CLAPS

Gary and the Covington Actor's Playhouse System (CLAPS) stopped by the studio yesterday. They brought a piano, and some TALENT!

Fontainebleau High incoming senior Catherine Comardelle singing in the Lake 94.7 studio with Charles as Gary Mendoza looks on.

SLU grad Sarah Bertrand playing in studio with Charles as Gary Mendoza  looks on.

Car Show

Register for the Mandeville Northshore Kiwanis Club car show

      The Mandeville Northshore Kiwanis Club will host its inaugural car show on Saturday, April 13^th, from 9:00a.m. -3:00p.m. at the Clarion Inn and Suites Conference Center on Hwy. 190 in Covington. Owners of cars, trucks and bikes are invited to register for the event for a donation of $20. The monies raised from the car show will be used to purchase and install a storage building for St. Tammany West STARC.  STARC is in need of this storage building for their year-round project of collecting Mardi Gras Beads.  STARC recycles the beads for resale and the storage building will allow a place for the beads to be stored once they are packaged.

      Awards will be given for:

·        (2) People’s Choice

·        STARC Aktion Club Choice Award

·        STARC Administration Choice Award

·        Clarion Inn & Suites Choice Award

·        Wow Café’s Choice Award

·        Directors Choice Award

·        Mandeville Kiwanis Choice Award

The day of great family fun will feature a 50-50 raffle, door prizes, games, and goody bags for each registered vehicle. It will also include music, food and drink. Admission is free for spectators. Everyone is welcome!

“Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world, one child and one community at a time.”  This project is one of the many ways the Northshore Mandeville Kiwanis club supports the community. For more information, please contact Mike Pausina at 985-966-3165.

SSA Fiddler on the Roof

The Benedictine Players of

St. Scholastica Academy

present

“Fiddler on the Roof” 

Thursday, April 11, 7:30pm

Friday, April 12, 7:30 pm

Saturday, April 13, 7:30 pm

Sunday, April 14, 2:00 pm

St. Joseph’s Abbey, Benet Hall

 For Ticket Information Contact:

985-892-2540, ext. 104

Or

esimmons@ssacad.com

 St. Scholastica Academy * 122 S. Massachusetts Street * Covington, LA 70433

Early Voting

St. Tammany Parish

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Early voting for the April 6, 2013 Primary Election will begin on Saturday, March 23, 2013 and ends on Saturday, March 30, 2013. Early voting hours are 8:30 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. daily through theearly voting period, ( Closed Friday March 29, 2013 in observance of Good Friday) and closed on Sunday.The Covington office is located at 701 N. Columbia Street, and the Slidell Office is at 520 Old Spanish Trail in the Conference Area on the ground floor and the Mandeville Office is located at 21490 Koop Dr. Identification is required to vote. If additional information is needed, pleasecall 985-809-5500 or 646-4125.

Train of Hope

St. Tammany businesswomen recognized for Train of Hope for Sandy relief

Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne has presented two Northshore businesswomen the
Louisiana Volunteer Service Award in recognition of their efforts to provide
relief supplies to victims of Hurricane Sandy.  Donna O'Daniels, President
and CEO of St. Tammany Tourist and Convention Commission, and Kim Bergeron,
former City of Slidell Director of Cultural & Public Affairs Director, were
the driving forces behind the Train of Hope for Sandy Relief, partnering
with Amtrak to deliver critical relief supplies to New York and New Jersey
following the storm.

The pair conceived of the idea shortly before midnight on November 1.
Exactly one week later, after rallying massive support through the use of
social media, O'Daniels, Bergeron and a team of volunteers were loading an
Amtrak train with over $250,000 in critical supplies. A second run with an
additional $200,000 in supplies and gifts for the children of the
storm-collected from all 50 states as a show of national support-followed
just four weeks later. O'Daniels and Bergeron accompanied both supply runs
to ensure that all donations reached pre-determined destinations where
relief was most needed.

A TASTE OF COVINGTON

http://www.atasteofcovington.com/

Had a great time talking to Cliff about this big event on air today. Make sure you get your tickets now, going fast....

Girl Scout Interview

Marianne Addy, VP of Communications and Development from Girl Scouts Louisiana East stopped by the studio with one of the local scouts, Katherine, to discuss Cookie Booth sales going on through the 17th.

They have a cool new app for locating cookies. **GSCOOKIES from your mobile phone or go by your app store.

LWVST In Studio Monday

COVINGTON (February 15, 2013) – In preparation for the upcoming legislative session, the League of Women Voters of St. Tammany (LWVST) has invited St. Tammany area legislators to speak at their monthly meeting in February.  The League meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 28, at 6:30 p.m. at the Louisiana Heart Hospital cafeteria in Lacombe.  Confirmed legislators to date are Senator Ben Nevers and Representatives Tim Burns, Kevin Pearson, and Scott Simon.

The meeting is free to attend for League members as well as the general public, and an optional dinner is being held at 5:30 p.m. for a nominal fee. Dinner reservations are not required, but are suggested and may be made by clicking on the event listed in the spotlight at the League's website at http://lwvofst.org. <http://lwvofst.org>
According to Sandra Slifer, LWVST President, the legislators will discuss their objectives and proposed legislation for the upcoming session which begins April 8.

"Some bills have already been pre-filed and Governor Jindal's tax proposal is sure to have a lot of supporters and opponents,” said Slifer.  “ People in St. Tammany are more engaged this year than ever because of the changes at Southeast Louisiana Hospital and the revelations about the Coroner's office. “

“There are still legal issues concerning the education and retirement legislation that was passed last year,” said Slifer. “Good government requires public participation and the League has been doing grass-roots voter education and advocacy for 93 years. We have built a solid reputation for being able to bring people and government together to work towards solutions."

The February 28th event is the second in a series of monthly League membership/public meetings to be held during 2013 in an effort to reach out to both members and the public to address topics of interest in the community. The League of Women Voters of St. Tammany is the visible leader and “go-to” resource for developing informed and engaged citizens on issues affecting their community. It is an inclusive organization of women and men that promotes an informed and active participation of citizens in the governmental process through education and advocacy. For more information about the League, please visit our website at http://lwvofst.org or contact Slifer at 985-875-9388<tel:985-875-9388>.

Real Men of St Tammany

LA Magnolia Tri

Louisiana Magnolia Tri - The Race is on!

Saturday, March 9^{th,  2013}   7:00 am

Registration to open 1/14/2013

Time Trial Swim Start – in Order of Registration

No Race Day Registration

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER…

http://register.cajuntiming.com/search/event.aspx?id=18071

½ mile swim, 12 mile bike and 5K run benefiting

The Magnolia School

Click here to visit Magnolia School - http://www.magnoliaschool.com/

Founded in 1935 Magnolia School is

Building Better Lives for Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Sign up early – Limited space

We welcome and encourage relay teams

For more information, including volunteering and sponsoring please contact Claire at skiranch@bellsouth.net  or (985) 789-6393

Visit Web Site Click Here…

http://northshoretriclub.ning.com/events/louisiana-magnolia-tri?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Donations can be made payable to Magnolia School and mailed to:

Claire DiPol

75008 Horse Branch Road, Covington, La. 70435

Thank you for your support!

Angel of Death

Bethany and I met the Angel of Death at about thirty thousand feet somewhere over the state of Missouri. We’re still alive, obviously, so it was more of a conversational “meet and greet” instead of a real “get to know you” encounter.

I’m not surprised at anyone we strike up a conversation with. Bethany, my mother, and my mother in law are all the kind of people who actually listen when someone tells them something, which makes them great to go to funerals with, because they somehow know exactly what to say, and how to say it.

When I try to be like that I feel like a sham, a fake, or I try too hard.

Bethany wasn’t officially my wife when we met the Angel of Death. We were in graduate school in Lincoln, Nebraska. We were on a plane headed back to Mississippi to get married. This was an exciting time for us, but you wouldn’t know it looking at my fiancée. She is a not her normally, chirpy self on a plane. That’s because she has to spend the entire flight concentrating on keeping the plane in the air. She has taken on that responsibility for everyone else on board, and if we go down in flames, or if the wings are loaded with ice, then it will be her fault.

Flying would be perfect in her mind if someone could design a plane that made no noise, and was able to always fly in a straight line. She doesn’t understand why a machine that is capable of lifting two hundred people into the air, flying them a thousand miles at five hundred miles per hour, then landing them safely back on the ground, can’t make those last few modifications toward perfection.

So she remains vigilant from the moment she gets on the plane to anything she feels may be irregular or out of the norm, and never hesitates to push her alarm button to notify the stewardess or even the pilot, if she can get past the locked door, to let them know about our impending doom.

                                               

You would think the Angel of Death would take a more sinister form on a commercial flight, maybe some nutty guy with a shoe bomb, somebody who locked all the bathroom doors, or even a stewardess who was stingy with the peanuts.

Not so. We were in a row with three seats. I had the aisle, Bethany was in the middle, and the Angel of Death got the window seat. Luckily, leg room wasn’t a problem for this demon of death; she was short, gray-haired, and dressed comfortably upper middle class. She was holding a novel with a crossword puzzle sticking out of it. She looked kind of like an editor. 

Now, my mother, mother in law, and my wife all see it as their duty to engage someone who is sitting next to them on a two hour flight. They would think it rude not to. While all three might engage any given stranger at any given time, it is not likely that they’ll come back with the same report.

My mother in law does it more like a history professor. She’ll spend a few moments with the people she did not know, then report, “I’ve been talking to Gene and Myrtle Norman from Atlanta. Gene’s in sales, Myrtle’s a part time decorator. They have two children, one is in politics and he works in DC, and the other fellow may be in some kind treatment facility. It sounded like a problem with alcohol, but I’m not sure.”

My mother will meet the same two strangers and come back with a more surfacy report, and generally one that seems to benefit her in some way. “That’s Myrtle and her husband. She’s a decorator and thinks I should switch out the leather couch with some kind of patterned one. She says neutral colors are out, and she’s also a big fan of Turkish rugs.”

Bethany will talk to the same two people and it will turn into a come-to-Jesus, kumbaya styled pow-wow. The three of them will huddle together. They will cry on her shoulder. She will cry with them. It will take hours. Then she’ll turn to me and mumble, “Those two are friggin crazy.”

For some reason, my wife is an everyman’s Dr. Phil.  People will tell her things they’ll barely admit to themselves. And they’ll do it anywhere. A bathroom. A restaurant. It can even happen at thirty thousand feet.

But, given that she had to guide the airplane all the way to Memphis that day, my wife’s initial greeting to the Angel of Death was hardly her usual one. They exchanged a low-key hello. There was silence for a few seconds, the woman had the novel open in her lap, then she asked if we were going on vacation.

My fiancée said, “Sort of. We’re going home to get married.”

The Angel of Death, who evidently was borrowing the Earthly name Dorothy, responded, “My husband died of cancer.”

This was not the usual conversational volley you get receive after telling someone you’re on your way to get married. My fiancée was so thrown by the response the plane turned to the left the slightest bit. Bethany put her focus back on guiding the plane as she offered her condolences to Dorothy.

Dorothy nodded, then shrugged. “Our oldest son committed suicide.”

Now Bethany went into full consoling mode. I was forgotten. The fate of the plane became secondary. She turned in her seat and placed her hand on Dorothy’s arm, a physical gesture to let her know it was OK, and Dorothy let go with her story, and in a voice that even I could hear. In addition to losing a husband to cancer and a son to suicide, Dorothy had another son in prison and another son who’d been killed in a car wreck. And this was all before cabin service. Armed with a ginger ale, (I’d been planning on getting champagne or wine but that didn’t seem appropriate now) Dorothy began relaying a life filled with tragedy and sadness.

It went on and on, Dorothy sharing some God awful occurrence, and my wife offering some well wishing words of comfort. Dorothy never stopped, and my wife-to-be could not bring herself to disengage. Their exchange got to be like banjoes dueling between the promise of hope, and the reality of despair. If my fiancée had been trying to keep the plane in the air, I think this woman was praying we’d go down in flames, just so she could add it to her repertoire of heartbreak.

            I was hitting some personal turbulence and descending into the emotional dumps myself. What had begun as a hopeful flight toward our lifelong commitment was dissolving into a descent into life’s potential hell. This was what Bethany and I would face together? A life that was nothing but loss, death, and sorrow?

Once she had exhausted the actual events that had made her life terrible, Dorothy started in with general statements that she’d picked up while serving as life’s doormat. It was getting creepier and creepier. “Enjoy the good times,” Dorothy told us. “Because life is full of heartbreak.”

            “I know,” my fiancée said, having long since run shy of appropriate platitudes for her responses.

            “It’ll surprise you. You’ll be going along, happy as a lark, then out of nowhere, it’ll all be gone.”

            “You have to enjoy the good times,” Bethany said, looping back to Dorothy’s advice.

            “And the good times don’t last nearly as long as they should.”

            “Life is short,” my fiancée said.

            “Sometimes you don’t even realize those were supposed to be the good times. It’s not until things are really, really bad that you even know that.”

            “Wow,” Bethany said. 

“You just can’t deny death,” Dorothy said.

“Nope,” Bethany said. “Or taxes.”

                       

After two hours with the Angel of Death, my fiancée was too exhausted to land the plane, even sleeping on my arm the last ten minutes of the flight. Once we were on the ground, I carried Dorothy’s suitcase for her.

 “And where did you say the two of you were going?” Dorothy said when I handed off her bag in the crowded terminal.

“Going to get married,” my wife said.

Dorothy frowned even as she said, “How nice.” Like maybe she was realizing what we were doing for the first time, and now she was piecing back together her words of the last two hours. But she couldn’t let death go. She had to get in one last negative word. “My husband and I got a divorce.”

I had not spoken to Dorothy the whole time, but now I could not hold my tongue. “Hold it a second. I thought you said he died of cancer.”

“He did. Throat cancer. After he ran off with his receptionist. Served the sorry bastard right.”

Then Dorothy hunched her shoulders and walked along in a defeated shuffle. Perhaps she was an angel at one time, but she’d seen too much heartbreak in her life and now death kept her firmly in its clutches as she trudged out of sight, pulling her carryon luggage behind her.