I had to take the cat to the emergency vet this weekend. (It cost me approximately eleventy billion dollars.) The 5-year-old wanted to come along. Sure, I said. She’s a good enough kid, sometimes, and she likes animals, so maybe the emergency vet would be fun, I thought.
I am a fool. Of course the emergency vet is not fun. At the emergency vet you wait at least 17 hours in a frigid waiting room, and there is only a glimpse of a dog behind the front desk. No fun at all to be had at the emergency vet.
We stayed busy, at first. Juliet colored four pictures of horses and cats and cats riding horses and horses walking cats on leashes. (I don’t ask questions.) When waiting room frostbite kicked in, we went outside and ran laps, up and down the sidewalk. Well. She ran laps. We looked at 3-year-old issues of “Sports Illustrated,” and I answered a million questions about why the football player in the picture has blood coming out of his bandaged nose. “His nose is probably broken,” I told her. “You mean, IT BROKE OFF???” She was horrified. I answered a million more questions about all sorts of random subject matter.
“Why is the sun so bright?”
“How many horses are there in Louisiana?”
“Why does Daddy go to work in the day?”
“Can I have a piece of gum?”
“No,” I told her. “No gum. You never keep it in your mouth.”
“Please, please, I promise to keep it in my mouth, please can I have some gum?”
I relented, vowing to take the gum away and never give her gum again, EVER, if I saw her playing with it.
Finally, we made it to the exam room, and I had a chance to talk to the vet about the cat’s non-stop vomiting and how I was sure it was caused by a rubber band. (Why does she eat rubber bands? Why? Argh, my carpet.) It was during our conversation that Juliet decided she’d had enough of reading worn-out “Sports Illustrated,” it would be much more entertaining to shame her mother.
She stood behind the vet, facing me, pulling her gum out of her mouth and stretching it. The vet kept talking, I kept answering his questions, all the while seething at my daughter who was taunting me with her gum.
“Excuse me,” I interrupted the vet, “Juliet, stop it. Put the gum into my hand.”
She ignored me and started bouncing around the room, meowing. “It’s fine,” the vet said, and he kept talking. Except it WASN’T fine, it was TERRIBLE. At one point, she got within arm’s reach of me, and I tried to snatch the gum out of her grubby, little hand. She darted away and attempted to stick the gum to the wall.
What in the world???
I don’t know what possessed her. I felt so impotent, the sorriest mother in all of America, and I had no idea how to handle the situation. She knew I was vulnerable, trapped in the conversation with the vet about the cat and her retching and rubber band-eating, and unable to deal with any misbehavior.
I suppose I could have stopped him. I could have interrupted him and snatched my daughter bald-headed, that’s what I could have done. That’s what I wanted to do. Instead, I continued the conversation while my blood pressure sky-rocketed.
“I am so sorry,” I told the vet. Repeatedly. He waved it off, no big deal, he said.
And then it was over. The vet walked out of the room.
“YOU,” I said to her in the most evil voice I could muster. “You put that gum in my hand. Right. Now.”
She actually looked a little scared. I was glad. But I had no idea what to do next. I knew not to show weakness or uncertainty—kids can be ruthless, they will eat you for breakfast if they sense you’re easy prey.
I steered her out of the office by her elbow, telling her she was in a HEAP of trouble, Miss Madam, just wait until we get home. The waiting part was important because I hadn’t figured out just what sort of trouble she was in for, but it had to be bad. Awful.
“No iPad for the rest of today,” I told her. Ugh. That sounded so weak. “Or tomorrow.”
She started to cry. Good, I thought.
“And. Uh. I’m taking away all the stars you earned on your good behavior chart.”
More crying. OK, this is good, maybe this is working. But who knows, right? For good measure, I allowed both of her brothers to have all sorts of fun on the iPad that evening, right in front of her, and I didn’t even allow her to watch.
It was cruel, cruel torture. She wailed.
Geez, I have no idea what I’m doing here. Why does my kid act like a jerk? Did my parents feel this clueless when dealing with my shenanigans? Am I a failure as a mother? Is my daughter going to fall into delinquency? I don’t know.
And that’s the thing, with this parenting gig. I just don’t know. Does anyone? Does anyone know the right way to do this? I’m blindfolded here, throwing darts at a dartboard, hoping one of them sticks and my kids won’t grow up to be criminals or jerks.
So far, I’m not doing so well. They’re jerks.
($500 later, we still have no idea why the cat was throwing up.)
(Betsy Swenson can be reached at sliindelife@gmail.com.)

Taylor Christine Risher, of Slidell, passed away at home on Tuesday, April 16, 2013.
She was 23 years old.
She was the daughter of Alan D. Risher and Robin C. Risher; sister of Chad Alan Risher; and granddaughter of Janice Swartz, and the late James K. Risher and Cpt. Robert V. Sr. and Mary Callahan.
She is also survived by her great aunt, Evelyne Herron; uncle, James Mark Risher; and two cousins, Alex and Casey Risher.
Risher was a native of Baton Rouge, and a resident of Slidell for the past year. She was a 2007 graduate of Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge.
Funeral services were held at Honaker Funeral Home in Slidell, on April 22.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in honor of Taylor to either the Community Christian Concern of Slidell or the Mt. Olive Food Pantry in Slidell.
Visit www.honakerforestlawn.com to sign guestbook.

Janet Filips Beck passed away on Friday, April 19, 2013, surrounded by her family and friends.
She was 79 years old.
She was born October 11, 1933, in Crofton, NE.
Beck is survived by her husband of 55 years, Killian F. Beck; mother to Diane Beck, Michael Beck, Robert “Bobby” Beck, Carolyn Beck, Jane Beck Biggs, Jeffrey Beck, and Amy Beck Goss.
She was also grandmother to 15.
She was preceded in death by her mother, father; Aunt Dora; sister, Bonnie Garcia; brother, Gerard Filips; and grandson, Joshua Beck. Beck was an active member of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Slidell.
A funeral mass was held at Our Lady of Lourdes in Slidell on April 23.
In lieu of flowers, donations to Feed The Children, P.O. Box 36, Oklahoma City, OK, 73101-0036, in her memory, preferred.
Visit www.honakerforestlawn.com to sign guestbook.

Dora Elizabeth Case Turnbull passed away on Friday, April 19, 2013.
She was 91 years old.
She was the mother of Mary Miller and Alice Karcher.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Noel Turnbull; and by the first marriage, the late Walter Lee Dodson; sons, Lee and Luther Dodson; sisters, Anna, Gladys, Francis, and Margaret; and brothers, Monroe, Elwood and Forrest.
Turnbull came to Louisiana from Florida in 2000.
Funeral services were held at Honaker Funeral Home in Slidell on April 22.
Visit www.honakerforestlawn.com to sign guestbook.

Harriet E. King passed away on Thursday, April 18, 2013.
She was 74 years old.
She was preceded in death by her husband, William (Bill) A. King II; and daughter, Sheila Schneider.
She is survived by children, William A King III, Kim K Beaver, Bruce J. King, Terri K. Cerniglia, Diane Bartholomew and George Junot; 16 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at Honaker Funeral Home in Slidell on April 23.
Visit www.honakerforestlawn.com to sign guestbook.

George W. Cry, of Slidell, passed away on Monday, April 15, 2013, in Slidell.
He was 83 years old.
Born May 16, 1930 in Hubbard, Texas, to Jack and Inez Cry. Cry received a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Texas after two years at Baylor University, and then went to work for the National Weather Service in Washington D.C.
He was a member of Tau Beta Pi, and was a distinguished honor as a fellow of The American Meteorological Society.
Cry is survived by wife, Irma; and sons, James, Geoffrey, David and Mitchell Cry. He is also survived by four grandchildren.
He is proceeded in death by his parents, Jack and Inez Cry; and a grandson, Logan.
Services for Mr. Cry will be held at a later date. The family asks that donations be made to The Adrenoleukodystrophy Foundation at 241 Camden Street Slidell, LA 70461 or by donating at http://www.aldfoundation.org.
Visit www.honakerforestlawn.com to sign guestbook.

Dennis Eugene Morris Sr. of Pearl River passed on Saturday, April 6, 2013.
He was 65 years old.
He is survived by his father, Robert Blankenship; step-mother, Emma Blankenship; mother, Rosalie Morris; children, Michelle Morris and Christina Madden, Veronica Gonzales and Constance Morris; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Services were held at Williams Funeral Home in Pearl River on April 18.

Shirley Cornellia Zechenelly passed away on Monday, April 15, 2013.
She was 59 years old.
She is survived by her husband, Daniel Zechenelly of 39 years; son, Daniel Glen Zechenelly Jr.; daughter-in-law, Jennifer Zechenelly; three grandchildren; mother, Queen Helen Williams Reynolds; brothers, Wayne Reynolds and Lee Reynolds; sisters-in-law, Charlene Reynolds, Ann Kirst, Rachel Zechenelly and Terri Zechenelly; and brothers-in-law, David Zechenelly, Sam Zechenelly.
She is preceded in death by her father, Grady Grover Reynolds; and brother-in-law, Alvin Kirst Jr.
Funeral services were held at D.T. Williams Funeral Home in Pearl River on April 20.
Brother Toby Pittman officiated.

Rev. Charles Spelman Hillery Sr., Major, U.S.A.F., retired, of Slidell, passed away on Sunday, April 14, 2013.

He was 78 years old.
He was the husband of the late Patricia Ann Grant Hillery; father of Charles Spelman Hillery Jr. and Carrie Ellen Hillery Vargo and the late Juliette Marie Hillery; and brother of Jules Wogan Hillery, Kenneth B. Hillery, Deliah F. Mullens and the late George A. Hillery Jr.
He is also survived by eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
He was the minister at Riverside Baptist Church for over 20 years.
Funeral services were held at First Baptist Church in Slidell on April 17.
Donations to First Baptist Church, preferred, in lieu of flowers.
Visit www.honakerforestlawn.com to sign guestbook.
Arrangements by Honaker Funeral Home, Inc., Slidell.

Martha Enola Smith Tabor, of Slidell, passed away on Sunday, April 14, 2013.
She was 68 years old.
She was the wife of Butler Tabor Sr. for 52 years; daughter of the late Malcolm Smith Sr. and Stella Martin Smith; mother of Butler Tabor Jr. and Charles Tabor; daughter, Tina Tabor; and sister of Floyd Bealer, Malcolm Smith, Lenora Whitney, Barbara Levron, the late Michael Bealer and Marilyn June La Cross.
Tabor resided in Slidell for 30 years.
Funeral services were held at Honaker Funeral Home in Slidell on April 17.
Visit www.honakerforestlawn.com to sign guestbook.
Arrangements by Honaker Funeral Home, Inc., Slidell.

By DAVE WOODALL
Slidell sports

MANDEVILLE — The third time was not the charm for the Northshore Panthers as they fell 5-2 to the District 6-5A champion and #5 seeded Fontainebleau Lady Bulldogs Thursday, April 18 in the regional round of the Louisiana state softball playoffs.
Shelby Rome (20-4) took the win for Fontainebleau while Missy Clark chalked up the loss.
It was the third time that the two teams had met this season with the Bulldogs coming out on top in the first two meetings.
Panther coach Marian Eades was asked what it would take to win the third meeting.
“We have to play an errorless game and be able to hit the ball,” said Eades.
And the Panthers did just that but it wasn’t enough to get by the Lady Dawgs.
As has been the case most of the season when Fontainebleau gets the lead they seldom lose it.
Thursday’s game was no exception as the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and never looked back.
Maddie Pence led off the first inning with a walk and moved up on a Gabby Perez sacrifice grounder. Brooke Bergeron then doubled to plate Pence. Dawg catcher Amanda Lassus then blasted a two-run home run over the right field fence to give the home team a 3-0 margin. It was her 11th home run of the season.
Savannah Folse doubled to open the Bulldog second, moved up on a fly ball by Rome and scored on an Ava Zimmerman sacrifice fly to make it 4-0 after two innings.
Fontainebleau picked up its last run of the game in the third inning. Bergeron doubled and moved up on a grounder by Lassus. She then scored on a wild pitch by Northshore starter Clark making it 5-0.
Rome dominated the Panther batters setting them down in order in the first two innings. She gave up her first hit of the game in the third when Clark reached on a single. Rome then forced two fly balls to strand Clark.
Sarah Rodriquez relieved Clark in the fourth inning and held the Bulldogs scoreless for the rest of the game.
Panther coach Eades had high praise for Rodriquez saying, “Sarah (Rodriquez) did an outstanding job considering that this was her first outing since she injured her hand and had to have plates put in.”
Northshore’s biggest inning came in the sixth when they finally got on the board.
Virginia Foy singled to open the inning and moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Sabrina Buell. Sydney Bourg picked up her second double of the day putting runners on second and third. Haley Kirkpatrick drove in Foy on a fielder’s choice and Taylor Estan plated Bourg with a double to narrow the Fontainebleau margin to 5-2.
But that would be as close as they would get.
Folse came on in the seventh to put an end to the Panther comeback and put Fontainebleau into the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2001.
It was all smiles and tears of joy on the field as the Bulldogs celebrated their accomplishment.
“We played with our whole heart today,” said winning pitcher Rome.
Leading Bulldog hitter Folse said with tears streaming down her face,”We really pulled together this year.”
Fontainebleau coach Chris Nelson was probably the happiest person on the field.
“I had a feeling that there was going to be an inning where they would make a run at us and sure enough they did in the sixth and seventh. But thanks to some excellent pitching and great defense we got out of it. I knew in the seventh when they hit that line drive to Maddie (Pence) with two runners on base and two outs that there was no way she was going to miss it.”
Nelson summed it up by saying, “Shelby (Rome) is a big game pitcher and has been all season. And it is so nice to be able to bring in a relief pitcher with the skills that Savannah (Folse) has.”
Rome gave up six hits in six innings while allowing two runs and striking out four.
Folse pitched one inning giving up one hit and no runs.
Said Eades of her team, “We showed a lot of character out there today. We got behind early but we never quit. Our defense made some outstanding plays, but we didn’t hit the ball when we needed to.”
Folse led the hitting going 3-for-3 while Bergeron was 2-for-three with two RBIs. Lassus went 1-3 and two RBIs and Megan Meyer rounded out the hitting with a single in three trips to the plate.
For Northshore, Bourg led the way going 2-for-3 with two doubles. Foy was 2-for-3 as well with two singles. Estan, Jessica Dicharia and Clark rounded out the offense, each collecting singles. Estan and Kirkpatrick had RBIs for the Panthers.

By CHRISSY SMITH
Slidell Sports Editor

SLIDELL — After a season-ending surge, the Salmen Spartans baseball team has made the Class 4A postseason.
Although Salmen, which boasts a 9-19 record, is the only single-digit win-team in the playoffs, SHS?Head Coach Brian Babin said he isn’t concerned. Babin put together a very tough pre-district schedule to get his squad ready for any kind of competition. In fact, out of Salmen’s first 18 games played, 16 of those teams are now in the playoffs.
“We’re excited especially after the rough beginning. We are playing good baseball right now,”?Babin said.
One of the keys to Salmen’s success has been starting pitcher Cody Campo. He has started nearly every game for Salmen this year, and even threw a no-hitter this season.
Salmen will take on No. 5 Benton today on the road at 4 p.m. To find out the final score, visit lhsaa.org.

By DAVE WOODALL
Slidell sportswriter

SLIDELL — For the Northshore Panthers, the Monday, April 22 home game against the St. Pauls Wolves turned out to be one of their biggest wins of the season.
Northshore erased a six-run deficit to win, 8-7, against district foe St.?Paul’s.
Panther designated hitter Brett Lambert homered in the fourth inning and had six RBIs.
Northshore collected 12 hits on the night with Lambert getting three of them. Michael Quintana, Trevin Stein and Hayden Nugent each had two hits for the Panthers. J.P Lagreco, Dane Pedersen had singles in the game.
Logan Trent led the Wolves with two hits, one a home run in the third inning and three RBIs. Zach Buster, Christian Commander and Kyle Schimpf each had hits with Schimpf also hitting a home run in the third inning.
Northshore second baseman Joshua Marques hit a walkoff RBI single over left fielder Christian Commander’s head, capping a three-run seventh that gave the Panthers the huge win.
Wolves catcher, Handsome Monica, homered in the seventh inning adding an insurance run to make the score 7-5, but it wasn’t enough, as Northshore scratched for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull out the victory.
The winning pitcher for Northshore was Michael McKinney who came on in the third inning in relief of starter Nico Cuccia. Blake Locicero took the loss for St. Paul’s.
With the win, Northshore is still in the running for a spot in the 5A playoffs.
“This has been a real rough season,” said Mauldin. “We’ve lost 10 games by one run so it’s been frustrating.”
Mauldin summed it up saying, “This was a huge win for us against the sixth-ranked team in the state especially when you come back from 6-0 to do it.”
The Panthers, now 14-17 for the year and 3-8 in district play, played the Slidell Tigers for the final game of the regular season on Wednesday, April 24, which was after the Slidell Independent’s deadline.
St. Pauls, 17-7 on the year and 8-3 in district play, finished their season on Wednesday as well and have only to wait to see what seed they will receive when the brackets are released this week.

Res·ur·rec·tion [rez-uh-rek-shuhn] – noun, the act of rising from the dead; rising again, as from decay, disuse, etc.; revival.
This column has previously described the remarkable cloud of life hovering around the magnificent Southern Live Oak. The tree hosts a wondrous variety of other species: birds and insects that rest or restlessly hunt among its branches, creatures that take up residence in its nooks, crannies and knot holes, plants that prefer to grow only in its shade or hang from its branches like Spanish moss or climb its trunk like many kinds of vines do or intimately cling to its bark like mosses, lichens and the mysterious Resurrection Fern (Pleopeltis polypodioides).
Imagine a life spent mostly dead. The fern actually stays shriveled up, curled up and brown most of the time. Only after there has been enough rain does the plant respond by uncurling and bursting back to life, all bushy, lush and green again. High humidity sustains it awhile longer. It then dries, losing up to 97 percent of its moisture content (most plants die after losing about 10 percent). It’s estimated it could remain that way for a century and still revive, but it rains too much around here for us to ever find out.
The fern decorates only the upper surfaces of the tree’s knarly bark, expecting rain and sunlight from the sky above. And it hosts its own ecology too. It accumulates a kind of soil at its feet, made from its own shedding fronds, its roots, mosses and other residue from the other life on the tree. In fact, it takes many years for the bark to accumulate enough of this “dirt” to get a crop of ferns started. No doubt within this mix is a whole assemblage of critters and other organisms that depend on this mini-environment. It all clings tenaciously in a precarious position high above the ground.
Occasionally, a fallen limb carries a chunk of this little world with it. I’ve had one of these sitting in the shade behind my house for quite some time. The whole aggregation holds together, dies and revives over and over gain, just as expected, just like it’s intended.

(Ben Taylor is the caretaker at Camp Salmen Nature Park, which is located on Hwy. 190 across from the Grand Theater, and writes a weekly column to talk about some of the features that the camp offers, which is open to the public. Information can be found at www.campsalmennaturepark.org)

With the regional track meets beginning this week, here are the results from the District 6-5A meet results:
Girls
Team Totals – 1. Slidell, 119; 2. Fontainebleau, 109; 3. Ponchatoula, 91; 4. Covington, 73; 5. St. Scholastica, 67; 6. Mandeville, 50; 7. Northshore, 49
Field Events
Long Jump – 1. Airianna Hamilton, Ponchatoula, 17-08.5; 2. Cedricka Little, Covington, 16-10; 3. Madison Heath, Fontainebleau, 16-01; 4. Destini Lemalle, Slidell, J16-01
Triple Jump – 1. Madison Heath, Fontainebleau, 37-01; 2. Airianna Hamilton, Ponchatoula, 36-10; 3. Destini Lamalle, Slidell, 36-09; 4. Jardae Casborn, Slidell, 33-01
High Jump – 1. Mary Grace Gitz, St. Scholastica, 5-06; 2. Fadeke Adeola, Northshore, 5-04; 3. Airianna Hamilton, Ponchatoula, 5-0; 4. Sydney Murrin, Fontainebleau, J5-0
Pole Vault – 1. Madison Heath, Fontainebleau, 11-03; 2. Maddison Mizell, Ponchatoula, 10-09; 3. Abby Short, Fontainebleau, 7-03; 3. Lydia Subat, Slidell, 7-03; 3. Marianna Carter, Ponchatoula, 7-03
Shot Put – 1. Brooke Jones, Covington, 36-05.25; 2. Jyar Francis, Ponchatoula, 35-05.75; 3. Kourtney Steele, Northshore, 33-08.75; 4. Marvalyn Vernon, Ponchatoula, 33-08.25
Discus – 1. Skylar Erikson, Northshore, 116-06; 2. Gabby Olin, Ponchatoula, 112-0; 3. Lauren Steadman, Ponchatoula, 111-3; 4. Meredith Leveille, Mandeville, 101-02
Javelin – 1. Samantha Zelden, St. Scholastica, 127-07; 2. Sydney Balado, Ponchatoula, 104-10; 3. Hannah Baker, Northshore, 100-10; 4. Calyn Landaiche, Ponchatoula, 96-07
Running Events
100M Dash – 1. Jessica Harris, Slidell, 12.10; 2. Lauren West, Slidell, 12.50; 3. Cedricka Little, Covington, 12.70; 4. Hope Gonzalez, Ponchatoula, 12.75
200M Dash – 1. Jessica Harris Slidell, 25.10; 2. Madison Heath, Fontainebleau, 25.60; 3. Lauren West, Slidell, 25.80; 4. Hope Gonzalez, Ponchatoula, 26.40
400M Dash – 1. Lexi Lewis, Slidell, 59.70; 2. Emma Hurstell, Fontainebleau, 59.90; 3. Eboni Riley, Slidell, 1:01.0; 4. Elli Ward, Fontainebleau, 1:02.5
800M – 1. Madison McDaniel, St. Scholastica, 2:19.60; 2. Claire Crosby, Mandeville, 2:23.30; 3. Madeline Blank, St. Scholastica, 2:27.00; 4. Amber Jackson, Mandeville, 2:29.5
1600M – 1. Nicole Durham, Fontainebleau, 5:15.10; 2. Carley Boyce, St. Scholastica, 5:17.70; 3. Olivia Murphy, Mandeville, 5:20.30; 4. Courtney Smith, Fontainebleau, 5:22.0
3200M – 1. Nicole Durham, Fontainebleau, 11:48.30; 2. Carley Boyce, St. Scholastica, 11:49.30; 3. Kylie Touchard, Mandeville, 11:51.60; 4. Courtney Smith, Fontainebleau, 12:19.70
100M Hurdles – 1. Terri Jackson, Northshore, 16.60; 2. Zhaniece Parker, Covington, 16.63; 3. Morgan Jarrell, Covington, 16.67; 4. Kelsey Davis, Slidell, 17.00
300M Hurdles – 1. Morgan Jarrell, Covington, 48.30; 2. Shantel Sheeran, Slidell, 49.70; 3. Brentney Carroll, Slidell, 50.60; 4. Rebecca McCarron, Mandeville, 51.30
4x100M Relay – 1. 50.40, Covington (Elleigh Cousin, Sydney Fulton, Morgan Jarrell, Keri Jones); 2. 50.60, Slidell (Jardae Casborn, Jessica Harris, Destini Lamelle, Lexi Lewis); 3. 52.40, Mandeville (Darian Alexis, Liz Bearden, Alexis Gajan, Amber Spicer); 4. 52.70, Fontainebleau (Diana Goff, Sadie Hocke, Summer Jones, Katherine Patin)
4x200M Relay – 1. 1:44.80, Slidell (Jessica Harris, Lexi Lewis, Eboni Riley, Shantel Sheeran); 2. 1:48.90, Covington (Elleigh Cousin, Hannah Fersch, Morgan Jarrell, Keri Jones); 3. 1:50.60, Fontainebleau (Diana Goff, Emma Hurstell, Summer Jones, Katherine Patin); 4. 1:51.50, Mandeville (Darian Alexis, Kayla Evans, Alexis Gajan, Amber Spicer)
4x400M Relay – 1. 4:07.40, St. Scholastica (Madeline Blank, Carley Boyce, Monica Guillot, Madison McDaniel); 2. 4:09.50, Slidell (Brentney Carroll, Lexi Lewis, Eboni Riley, Shantel Sheeran); 3. 4:12.60, Fontainebleau (Emma Hurstell, Sydney Murrin, Katherine Patin, Alina Vaccaro); 4. 4:17.80, Ponchatoula (Lindsey Ferina, Hope Gonzalez, Calyn Landaiche, Olivia Obot)
Boys
Team Totals – 1. St. Paul’s, 121.5; 2. Ponchatoula, 121; 3. Covington, 86; 4. Mandeville, 65; 5. Northshore, 62.5; 6. Slidell, 59; 7. Fontainebleau, 43
Long Jump – 1. Steven Barze, Ponchatoula, 23-04; 2. Jamil Evans, Slidell, 21-03; 3. CJ Sims, Covington, 21-02.5; 4. Tre Rollins, Slidell, 21-0.5
Triple Jump – 1. Steven Barze, Ponchatoula, 45-06; 2. Tre Rollins, Slidell, 45-01; 3. George Brister, Covington, 42-04; 4. Jalen McKlesky, St. Paul’s, 41-07
High Jump – 1. Steven Barze, Ponchatoula, 6-04; 2. Tre Rollins, Slidell, 6-02; 3. Koree Hollins, Mandeville, 5-10; 4. Tomas Sheaperd, Ponchatoula, 5-08
Pole Vault – 1. Jonathan Nelsen, Mandeville, 14-03; 2. Cameron Robichaux, St. Paul’s, 14-03; 3. Ben Ray, Ponchatoula, 13-03; 4. Brandon Blair, Covington, 11-03
Shot Put – 1. Aaron Basso, Ponchatoula, 51-08.75; 2. Michael Seither, Fontainebleau, 50-06.75; 3. Eugene Giles, Slidell, 44-09.75; 4. Stephen Short, Mandeville, 43-07.75
Discus – 1. Brandon Charitat, St. Paul’s, 131-10; 2. Aaron Basso, Ponchatoula, 130-09; 3. EJ Pomykol, Mandeville, 130-01; 4. Payton Holmes, Covington, 129-05
Javelin – 1. Alex Hatcher, Covington, 173-06; 2. Chase Smith, Fontainebleau, 155-08; 3. Ethan Rodriguez, St. Paul’s, 152-04; 4. Brandon Kent, Fontainebleau, 144-0
Running Events
100M Dash – 1. Nick Houston, Northshore, 10.80; 2. Lamarco Jacobs, Covington, 10.90; 3. Josh Pines, Ponchatoula, 11.00; 4. Marcus Gaines, St. Paul’s, 11.10
200M Dash – 1. Nick Houston, Northshore, 22.30; 2. Jocquan Williams, Covington, 22.50; 3. Massimo Vacheri, Mandeville, 22.70; 4. Marcus Gaines, St. Paul’s, 22.90
400M Dash – 1. Mitche Brumfield, Covington, 49.60; 2. Josh Pines, Ponchatoula, 51.40; 3. Chris Bourque, Mandeville, 51.70; 4. Timothy Perkins, Slidell, 52.30
800M – 1. Alex Holden, Northshore, 1:55.20; 2. Zachary Albright, St. Paul’s, 1:56.20; 3. John Neal, Northshore, 2:01.00; 4. Mac Mcguire, Mandeville, 2:01.90
1600M – 1. Zachary Albright, St. Paul’s, 4:24.10; 2. Brett Oliver, Fontainebleau, 4:27.50; 3. Don Lipani, St. Paul’s, 4:29.70; 4. Matthew Myrtue, Fontainebleau, 4:35.50
3200M – 1. Don Lipani, St. Paul’s, 9:52.50; 2. Zachary Albright, St. Paul’s, 10:01.90; 3. Brett Olivier, Fontainebleau, 10:04.40; 4. Dylan Heck, Mandeville, 10:06.40
110M Hurdles – 1. Christian Campbell, Ponchatoula, 15.00; 2. Christian Berry, St. Paul’s, 15.80; 3. Jay Daigle, Mandeville, 16.30; 4. Hawkem Eubanks, Covington, 16.70
300M Hurdles – 1. Christian Campbell, Ponchatoula, 41.43; 2. Christian Berry, St. Paul’s, 42.02; 3. Joey Cherry, St. Paul’s, 43.08; 4. Albert Miner, Slidell, 44.00
4x100M Relay – 1. 43.20, Covington (Tyson Blanks, Lamarco Jacobs, Cordera Laurent, CJ Sims); 2. 43.90, Ponchatoula (Kobe Jackson, Orquavian Randolph, Ben Ray, Brian Rogers); 3. 44.30, North shore (William Dowden, Darrick Franklin, Nick Houston, Cameron Wells); 4. 44.40, St. Paul’s (Christian Berry, Jalen Cavalier, Derek Drago, Francois Elzy)
4x200M Relay – 1. 1:30.60, Slidell (Jamil Evans, Casey Hall, Kain Mitchell, Timothy Perkins); 2. 1:31.30, Covington (BJ Armstrong, Eddie Harris, Lamarco Jacobs, Cordera Laurent); 3. 1:32.40, North shore (William Dowden, Ashton Jackson, Paul Waddell, Edward Williams); 4. 1:33.80, Mandeville (Jacob Cambre, Enrique Davis, Matt Nungesser, Massimo Vacheri)
4x400M Relay – 1. 3:30.10, Ponchatoula (Storm Coates, Andrew Garcia, Tim Holmes, Austin Lewis); 2. 3:31.10, North shore (David Funck, Alex Holden, Trent Kelley, John Neal); 3. 3:31.10, Covington (Brandon Blair, Mitch Brumfield, Colin Grover, Cordera Laurant); 4. 3:33.40, Mandeville (Chris Bourque, Nick Casey, Connor Joslin, Massimo Vacheri)

By CHRISSY SMITH
Slidell Sports Editor

SLIDELL – Shawn Paretti, who has won two state individual swimming titles at Northshore High?School, has signed with Nova Southeastern University.
Paretti said he contacted the school early in September.
“I wasn’t fast enough for them then, but after my state swim meet, I contacted them again and they were interested. We talked a little bit about my times and we set up a visit in Ft. Lauderdale,”?Paretti said. “I liked it a lot, and the coach said my times were good and that I’d probably be on one of the top relay teams.”
At last year’s state meet, Paretti swam the 50-free and 100-free. In the 50, he had a time of 21.30, and in the 100, his time was 46.65.
Paretti was considering walking-on to the LSU swim team, but he said he felt like he’d have more of an opportunity to shine at NOVA.
The senior’s goal is to swim in college, and maybe some day go to the Olympic trials.
Paretti’s mom Kenta actually swam for Northshore swim coach Ed Kelly in her prep days, and the teenage-swimmer said Kelly has helped him out a lot in getting him where he wants to go.
“I’m excited to go to the next level and start college training. I feel like I have a lot of room to improve,”?Paretti said. “My family is happy with my choice, too.”
Paretti wants to major in business, and plans on joining the Marines or being part of the Navy Rescue Team after college.

A very interesting basketball game is coming to the area. It’s actually in New Orleans, but there are going to be so many Saints players there, I just had to spread the word.
The Black & Gold Hoops Challenge II charity basketball game will take place Wednesday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m. at Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie.
Proceeds will benefit the Lance Moore Community Cares Foundation, Darren?Sharper Kids Coundation, Get Checked or Check Out Health Foundation, and We Stand as One! For a Safer New Orleans! Want to hear the lineup? New Orleans Saints who are participating in the game are Lance Moore, Pierre Thomas, Cameron Jordan, Joseph Morgan, Thomas Morstead, Malcolm Jenkins, Isa Abdul-Quddus, Chris Ivory, Courtney Roby, Keenan Lewis, Darren Sharper, Mike Lewis and Nicke Moore.
The Saints players will take on police, fire fighters and military personal.
There will be a $10,000 half-court shootout, a Saints players three-point shootout, and a mega Harlem Shake video where fans are encouraged to wear their crazy outfits to join in on the Guinness?World Book of Records “Wobble” dance. The record is currently 2,000.
For more information on where to buy tickets, call Alvee Brule at brule@tcynow.org or Darryn DeWalt at ddewalt@tcynow.org or at 504-305-7563. Tickets can also be purchased at westandasone.org The cost is $5 for kids; $10 for adults; or $15-$25 for VIP seating.
You can support some great causes and have fun.

(Chrissy Smith is Sports Editor of the Slidell Independent, and a former college athlete. She can be reached at chrissycsmith@gmail.com.)

By CHRISSY SMITH
Slidell Sports Editor

SLIDELL — The No. 29 Northshore baseball team had a tough road ahead of them?Tuesday night when they played No. 4 Ruston in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the local team lost 10-0 in five innings.
“They hit everything we threw up there, and their pitcher was very good. That’s the hardest anyone has thrown to us all year,”?Northshore Head Coach Rick Mauldin said.
Northshore finished the season 15-18 overall and 4-8 in District 6-5A play. NHS had four hits against Ruston.
Last week, Mauldin announced he would be resigning at the end of the season, which would conclude 38 years of coaching. However, on Tuesday, he said he had a change of heart.
“The administration convinced me to stay,”?Mauldin said.
NHS?Principal Dr. Michael Peterson and Athletic Director Tom Gainey, along with friends and family, told Mauldin they didn’t think he should stop coaching just yet.
Mauldin said he has had a bad back for years now, and it was the worst it has ever been this season.
“I’ve been in a lot of pain, and I?didn’t think I could continue with it like this. I’m 50 years old now, not 16,”?Mauldin said.
But both Peterson and Gainey told Mauldin to take off the summer and winter to rest his back. Mauldin said he will likely have surgery this summer to repair it.

Northshore is graduating six seniors and two senior managers from this year’s squad.

There are many layers of history at Camp Salmen. The bayou and the land itself are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years old. Native Americans, after centuries of occupation, left shell and pottery fragments in the ground. The story of European and American settlement echoes up and down the bayou and is represented by our old 1807 trading post. The landscape was altered in many ways by natural resource extraction and storms. More recently, the Scouts built a campground for nearly a half-million boys. Now St. Tammany Parish government is “repurposing” the land as a nature park for public enjoyment.
Here’s a little story about one of those layers.
Next to the path down the hill to the Swampwalk, under a large oak tree, is a small patch of ground with the black, crumbly remains of a coal pile. Camp Salmen had its beginnings in the 1920s and apparently there was a kitchen located here that used the cooking technology of the time – a coal-fired stove.
For some reason, broken glass, ceramic bowls, plates, platters and cups are also in this pile. The kitchen staff must have had a jolly time smashing unworthy dinnerware. I imagine the scouts could be a pretty rambunctious bunch around such delicate things.
Interestingly, some of the fragments of this dinnerware are marked with the logo of the old Grunewald Hotel in New Orleans.
It was a big, fine building built in 1893 with Fritz Salmen’s bricks. This must have been a pretty nice order for Fritz’s relatively young brick manufacturing company. The building was renamed the Roosevelt Hotel in 1923 and the proprietors apparently donated their obsolete bowls and plates to the new scout camp on the other side of the lake.
In later years the scout’s food preparation and serving moved up the hill to a new cafeteria, also since demolished. Most of the former scouts who visit the park today ask, “Where’s the old cafeteria?”
Their appetites must have been a significant part of their memories of the place. St. Tammany Parish used the cafeteria’s old slab to build a beautiful new picnic pavilion for its new nature park and people continue the tradition of using this location for eating.
With its nature walks and playground, Camp Salmen is now home to family fun and adventure. Children had enjoyed the grounds for decades and still do today.
Though the kitchen and the Boy Scout camp are long gone, Camp Salmen may become a playground for archaeologists someday as well.

(Ben Taylor is the caretaker at Camp Salmen Nature Park, which is located on Hwy. 190 across from the Grand Theater, and writes a weekly column to talk about some of the features that the camp offers, which is open to the public. Information can be found at www.campsalmennaturepark.org)

By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau

SLIDELL – St. Tammany Coroner Dr. Peter Galvan is asking a judge to support his efforts to keep the Louisiana legislative auditor from viewing e-mails circulated among key personnel in his office.
Galvan is the target of an investigation by Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera, after the St. Tammany Parish Council asked Purpera to look into questions about misspending by Galvan and his staff over the past six years.
Purpera asked Galvan on April 15 to produce all e-mails between himself and six employees: Michael DeFatta, Melanie Comeaux, Kim Kelly, Mark Lmbard and Rebecca Caminita.
However, Galvan not only refused to release the e-mails, but went on the offensive by asking a judge in the 22nd Judicial District of St. Tammany to quash the subpoena from Purpera, or place the e-mails under seal so they could not be viewed by the press.
Galvan currently has complete control over his office’s $5 million budget with little oversight, thanks to a 2007 law that also allows him to set his own salary. Galvan currently makes $200,000 per year, while many of his employees are making over $100,000. The Orleans Parish coroner makes an annual salary of about $100,000.
“(HB 561) will restore control back to the Parish Council as it was prior to 2007,” said Burns.
Over $4 million of the coroner’s budget is generated by a 4-mill property tax approved by St. Tammany voters in 2004, and for which Galvan lobbied heavily. The millage allowed for the construction of an $11 million state-of-the-art crime lab in Lacombe.
The Slidell Independent initially reported questionable credit card use in the coroner’s office in a story last Dec., 2012, including nearly $30,000 in dining charges at some of the area’s best restaurants during the 2007-08 year. Liberal spending on alcohol was included in the dining expenses. The information was made public in connection with a wrongful termination lawsuit filed against Galvan by Dr. Laura King.
Throughout all news reports, Galvan consistently refuses to speak publicly about any charges, claiming the information is in connection with a pending lawsuit. He did, however, send his counsel to oppose the bill at last week’s legislative committee meeting, which unanimously pushed the bill to the House floor.
At the committee meeting, coroner’s office Executive Director Melanie Comeaux argued that the bill is unconstitutional, Burns said. She also reminded legislators that the case against Galvan has not been full deposed and no convictions have been made.
No matter, Burns said.
“The allegations against his office, while they haven’t been addressed in a criminal setting, I think people have really heard enough,” said Burns. “Based on our records furnished by the coroner’s office we don’t really need a case disposition to take action.”
Burns says he has the full support of the St. Tammany delegation and is optimistic the bill will pass once it hits the Senate floor.

By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau

SLIDELL – When Angelina Ariail’s second child was born with an extremely rare kidney disease—something it took doctors two months to diagnose—she became an activist in the campaign to speak for little ones like her own.
And listening to her own story of growing up, it is easy to understand why Ariail is passionate about standing up for children.
Ariail grew up in a family situation that was challenging, to say the least, so it makes sense that she now wants to fight to help children much younger than she was.

Aaron Lee Ariail is 12 months old this month, laughing and crying like any baby would. But it was only 10 months ago when he faced a life-threatening situation due to a rare kidney disease, eventually diagnosed as Posterior Urethral Valve (PUV).
The answer to his problems as a baby were solved on a night in an emergency room, where the ER doctor told Ariail, “if you had not brought your baby in here, he would not have made it through the night.”
Ariail is now on a personal campaign to raise awareness about PUV with the first annual Kids with Kidney Disease Softball Tournament, set for Saturday, May 11 in Slidell. (To play in the tournament or support the cause, see separate story in today’s paper.)
Ariail, 26, already had a 3-year-old son when she became pregnant with baby number two, making it through her pregnancy with no unusual signs until near the time she was due to deliver. Aaron Lee was diagnosed at 33 weeks with PUV, and after being born three weeks later, had surgery when he was 5-days-old.
PUV is an obstructive membrane in the urethra, so it appeared the surgical procedure at 5-days-old took care of clearing the blockage for the little boy. However, within a month he again showed signs of something being wrong. Ariail said she was continually told by doctors there was nothing seriously wrong with him, but a month later on a night when he was “inconsolable,” his mother went to the emergency room demanding answers.
That is the night she was told her son might have died if he hadn’t come in. Doctors realized he also had a kidney disease that allowed urine to move from the bladder to the ureter or kidneys, a condition known as Renal Tubular Acidosis.
“For over a month my son had something wrong, but the doctors didn’t know what it was,” she said. “These conditions are rare so I am trying to bring more awareness to others about them.”
When Ariail sought a support group for the particular kidney disease affecting her son, she found none. Now she has started her own group on Facebook and wants others to know about it, so they can understand the condition in case their child has a similar problem.
“Having a child that sick at home is the most intimidating thing I have ever been through, especially when the doctors aren’t telling you what is wrong,” she said, noting her son was on seven different medicines a day. “I was surprised there is no support group around here for this so I have started one. I had to fight for my son’s life, and I don’t want anyone else to go through that.”
Ariail’s passion to help others might stem from her own childhood that was far more difficult than most young people ever experience.
Growing up in Mobile, Ala., her parents separated when she was at a young age and she lived with her mother until the state finally took both her sister and Ariail out of the home and placed them with the state.
“There were a lot of problems my mother faced, just like my dad until he got saved when I was eight years old,” she recalled.
But the change for religion in his life still didn’t provide a steady fatherly influence in the life of Ariail, she said, since her dad decided he wanted to become a missionary to Africa.
“My dad was not any kind of Christian early in my life, and he wasn’t a part of my life at all,” she said. “But when he got saved and turned to God, my sister and I thought he was suddenly going to be around.
“Instead he wanted to go to Africa,” she said. “And that was tough on us because we didn’t understand why he wanted to save all the kids in Africa, but didn’t want to save his own daughters.”
Her older sister married as soon as she was 18 and the couple tried to adopt Ariail so they could all be together again, instead of her living in foster homes.
“The state wouldn’t allow it,” she said. “So I managed through my teenage years, getting into a lot of problems with drugs and drinking.”
The salvation for Ariail turned out to be her step-great grandmother.
“She took me to the Baptist church all the time and she was the most beautiful, spiritual woman I have ever known,” she said. “She was the one who exposed me to a Christian life and helped me finally change my life.”
Ariail was a smart student in school, with a 4.0 average, earning a small scholarship to college that she was not able to take advantage of since she needed more money for room and board. The scholarship only covered tuition so she eft high school, joining the Coast Guard.
“I think I joined the service since I wanted to run away from everything I experienced as a teen,” she said.
In September, 2005 while home in Mobile on leave, she was set up for a blind date and met a man who later became her husband. They dated for eight months and then were married.
“I’m happily married now although my husband has had to teach me what real love is,” she said. “I’m still a distant person and don’t let people in easily.”
Knowing the condition in her son could reoccur, she wants to raise awareness to others with her support group and research.
“That is what this softball tournament is about,” she said. “It’s the first step to bringing awareness to others about this disease. I just want doctors to understand it better too, since some of them didn’t recognize it when they saw my baby.”

SLIDELL — For the second time in two months, a late night train accident in Slidell left a local woman dead, Slidell Police Spokesman Det. Daniel Seuzeneau reported.
Bonnie Gibbs, 57, was killed at the intersection near the Rouse’s Supermarket on Front Street, Seuzeneau reported, when she was attempting to cross the railroad tracks, but her car got stuck in the gravel.
Seuzeneau said that Gibbs had apparently gotten out of the car when she saw it was stuck, and realized a train was coming. But as she tried to get out of harm’s way, her 2005 Ford Taurus was struck by the oncoming train, with the car striking Gibbs as it was spinning around.
The accident happened at 8:15 p.m. on Sunday night at the tracks across from Lafayette Street.
Seuzeneau said that the back end of Gibbs’ car had gotten stuck in the gravel after she accidentally drove her vehicle off the main roadway. This left the rear end of the vehicle exposed on the railroad tracks.
By the time Slidell Police and other emergency personnel arrived at the scene, Gibbs had succumbed to her injuries, Seuzeneau reported. Investigators don’t believe that drugs or alcohol contributed to the accident, but routine toxicology tests are still pending.

Last month, Slidell resident Jamii F. Pizzitolo, was struck at the intersection of Front Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Witnesses say that Pizzitolo, for unknown reasons, made a left turn onto the railroad tracks before a southbound train struck Pizzitolo’s northbound vehicle.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are about 5,800 vehicle train crashes each year in the United States.
These accidents kill about 600 people and injure about 2,300 each year. Slidell Police want to remind all drivers of railroad crossing safety. Trains have the right of way 100% of the time. It takes the average freight train more than a mile – the length of 18 football fields – to come to a complete stop.
“Never try and beat a train by going around railroad crossing arms, never stop on the tracks (especially at a red light), and if your vehicle becomes stuck or stalled on the tracks, move away to a safe distance and call 911,” Seuzeneau said.

There is going to be a special event at Pinewood Country Club this Saturday night, May 4.
The club will celebrate 50 years in Slidell, providing a great place for family fun since they opened in 1963. Pinewood is certainly a historical marker for Slidell, becoming the first full-service golf course with a country club atmosphere when it formed in the 60s—part of the growth of our community during the time NASA brought a presence here. It was the first big growth explosion for Slidell and saw the city expand in many other ways.
Just as in life, it seems you blink and the years go by—50 of them for Pinewood. And now they are ready to celebrate five decades of operating here, providing so much social fun for so many.
I hope many of you will purchase tickets to the big event this Saturday night, where Ronnie Kole will be the guest performer, and there will be a lot of special moments when they stroll down memory lane. If you have ever been a member at Pinewood, or if you just want to see what the club is really about, you should spend the money for a couple of tickets.
I have spent many a day at Pinewood Country Club during my newspaper career in Slidell, first as a young sports writer, then as the managing editor of the former Slidell Sentry-News, and now as the publisher and main writer for The Slidell Independent.
The club truly does offer a host of great activities—golf, tennis, swimming, dining, parties and social fun in the lounge.
One big perk for Pinewood has been the longtime management from Club Pro James Leitz and Club General Manager Terri Haithcox. I know them both well and can honestly say that the Pinewood members are very fortunate to have them there.
James and I go way back to the many golf tournaments I covered there, and I have talked to Terri for years as I breezed in-and-out of the front door, always marveling at the fact she almost seemed to live there with the long hours she put in. One thing about Terri as the G.M.—she doesn’t pass off the responsibilities to others. If there is something important at Pinewood, she is always there to make sure it comes out smoothly—and from what I’ve seen, it always does.
The club has had its financial challenges in the past 10 years, especially after Hurricane Katrina when so many new faces were in Slidell. I actually think a lot of people here don’t even know that Slidell has a country club since it is tucked a good ways down Country Club Boulevard and you don’t ever happen to see it just because you are cruising down Robert Blvd.
But I can attest that it is a wonderful place for families, offering plenty of young people fun, and plenty of older people fun. I hope the community will realize that they need to show their support in the way of memberships and using the club for various functions if they want to ensure we don’t ever lose it. Nothing is guaranteed in this world and even something seemingly as solid as Pinewood Country Club could go away if the community doesn’t back it.
So this Saturday night, I hope many of you will do just that by purchasing tickets and joining the big party to celebrate 50 years. I will be in attendance to document everything that happens. Call the club at 643-6892 to guarantee you will be a part of the special night.

——

I covered the Children’s Wish Endowment luncheon at the Slidell Municipal Auditorium last week, where they had perhaps the biggest crowd ever for the annual fundraiser.
While the once-a-year event is always a special afternoon, I have to mention my good friend Dianne Baham, who is frequently called on to pray at public functions. Dianne is one of those people who is so full of joy all the time that you wonder how she keeps it up.
Well, I do actually know. Dianne is a very committed Christian woman who has a close walk with the Lord, and really shows you what it means to have the “joy of the Lord” as she goes about her work.
I’ve said many times that the community is fortunate to have her as the 40-year founder and director of STARC, an incredible organization that has offered a real life for hundreds of those in the community with disabilities. But the reason I even mentioned Dianne today is because I am always inspired by listening to her prayers, that usually have some motivational words.
Last week as she prayed, Dianne said that we all need to be “joyously busy about your work,” in reference to following the example the Lord gives us to serve others. I loved the way she said it. It’s not enough to be busy about God’s work, but as Dianne appropriately put it, she said for us to be “joyously busy…..”
It’s incredible the way God uses those around us to inspire and motivate others, many times just when we need it most.
When I see and hear people like Dianne, it makes me want to do all I can to also be an inspiration, a motivation, and hopefully some kind of Christian example to others. This life is truly about serving others, and I do know that she is right when she says God wants us to even do it “joyously.”
Thanks for the pep talk Dianne!

Kevin Chiri can be reached by e-majl at kevinchiri@gmail.com.

By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau

SLIDELL – When Marguerite Riehim was only 15 years old and baked 112 miniature wedding cakes for her sister’s shower, it wasn’t hard to see a future in the baking business for the New Orleans native.
“I wanted to do something special and something nice for my sister,” she said. “I knew I could do it for her.”
Riehim, known best as the founder and owner of Marguerite’s Cakes in Slidell, had already been baking seriously since she was 11. She believes God gives everyone different talents, but we all have one dominant talent that we should focus our lives around.
“Everyone gets gifts from God,” she said. “But I think we all have a dominant gift, and mine was baking.”
Marguerite grew up in a home where her mother was very sick, so she got lots of advice from her aunt, along with a Betty Crocker baking book from her mother.
“I used that book all the time, and I was always figuring things out on my own,” she said. “I was so passionate about baking and I still love it today.”
Marguerite did make a career out of baking, finally opening her first store in New Orleans in 1991 and building a hugely successful business, highlighted by what she said were “the first king cakes with fruit in them. A lot of other places claim they were the first ones to put fruit in king cakes, but it was me. Nobody did it before me.”
Still now slowing down though 62 years of age, she is planning a major expansion next year that will lead to five locations in the Metro area for Mardi Gras season.
“God always told me I was going to have five locations,” she said. “I used to think it was five bakeries, but now I believe it means five locations to sell king cakes during Mardi Gras season.”
Marguerite baked for friends leading into her adult life. She married in 1971 at the age of 20 and had two sons, taking baking courses as she continued to bake for friends at work and home.
“I would never take money for making anything,” she said. “Finally in 1978 a lady said she wouldn’t let me make the cake if I didn’t take the money. So she paid me $12 for a big Halloween cake. Of course, that led to others starting to ask me to bake and before you knew it, I was baking 25 to 30 cakes a week.”
She quickly started her king cake business in ’81, and added fruit to the cakes, which was an instant hit.
“One of the reasons my cakes have always been so popular is that all my dough is made so it is tender dough,” she said
She managed to work out of her house for years before neighbors called the permit office for operating a business out of her house.
“I knew it would only be so long before I had to stop,” she said, laughing about the constant traffic at her house to pick up cakes. “So that forced me to open my first store in 1991.”
The fruit in the king cakes was insanely popular and she began making over 10,000 king cakes a year from her small location on Williams Boulevard in Metairie, before selling her business in 1994. She stayed out of the business for five years, but knew she would be back. In 2001, she opened a small bakery on West Napoleon, then moved to Slidell in 2002.
Marguerite says that her biggest challenge is so many bakeries that purchase their cakes, rather than make them from scratch.
“I have always made everything from scratch so maybe I won’t be the cheapest cake, but I think mine are the best,” she said.
Wedding cakes continue to be a huge part of the business, and she offers a “gourmet testing” for bride and groom, with a host of different cakes to try.
“Everyone who has ever tasted my cakes has always said they have never tasted better,” she said. “But now, so many people want the cheapest cake. I might get my price beat, but my cakes taste so great.”
With that said, Marguerite said she can always work with a couple who has a budget, and wants nothing more than to help newlyweds have the best wedding cake ever for their big day.
She continues to marvel to this day about the way God has used her baking as a ministry to reach others for the Lord.
“I was saved in a Marvin Gorman service in 1981, and he had a green paper to fill out with all the ministries the church offered. But there was nothing for bakers, so I cried and cried,” she remembers. “But God told me to tell them I could bake, and He has shown me that He will use anything you offer, no matter how insignificant you think it is.”
Marguerite’s is located in Slidell at 125 Commercial Square, off Gause Blvd. You can reach them at 641-5802.

I’m apologizing up front. I’m very distracted while writing this column because my husband and I are in the process of purchasing a minivan. Right now. While I type this. He is at this moment at the dealership looking at vans I’ve preselected as great choices for us. He is texting me things like, “No way are we spending that much,” and “Um, NO.”
He is such a stick in the mud.
We weren’t intending to shop for a new van. The old one was fine. It’s a total hoopty, but it was fine. Even though there’s a dent in the back, and the paint is flicking off the bumper. And you know the cloth stuff that’s on the ceiling of the car—the headliner, my husband says—it’s all hanging down on top of our heads, and we’ve tacked it up with push pins (classy), and the 2-year-old loves yanking it all off. Also, the power sliding doors are broken and it squeals really loudly whenever it’s humid outside. Which means it always squeals really loudly.
You’re jealous of my van, aren’t you?
But it was serving its purpose, even if it was a hoopty. It carted my four kids where we needed to go, and that’s about all you can ask of a minivan, right? And then the A/C went out. The compressor or something is leaking, I don’t know. That was it, that was the tipping point when I decided I’d had enough of the old, white van, it was OVER between us. I don’t want to throw any more money at this hoopty van, I told my husband.
So we started shopping.
You know how it goes with car shopping. You start out all practical-like. “Oh, I don’t need anything fancy, just something clean and reliable with low mileage, that will be fine.” You do your research online, and you go to the dealership to check out the nice, practical van you’ve selected on the Internet.
And it’s fine. It will certainly cart around four kids, and it’s a huge improvement over the hoopty. But then you see the other vans. The ones with the leather interiors and the DVD players and the heated seats. And they’re shiny light blue or silver, colors you love, while the practical one you’ve found is a pukey tan. You peek in the windows. Sure, you’ll take it for a test drive, what can it hurt? Because you are dumb, and you forget that you NEVER test drive the fancy vehicles, EVER, because then you will just want them and be grumpy about your practical, just fine choice.
So now you have to have this van, the one that is way more than you originally said you were going to spend, but this one has leather, and we need leather with these disgusting kids, right? Because the cloth will just get all stained and icky, and really, leather is a practical choice. And we need the DVD player because of the eight-hour drive we make to visit my grandparents in Texas one whole time a year. I mean, that is a long drive. And maybe you’ll drive somewhere else that’s far away, and when you do, won’t you be grateful to have the DVD player for the whiny kids in the back?
But then your husband starts talking about things like car payments and taxes and titles and I don’t know what else. He is such a buzz kill.
Oh, wait, he just texted me. “Frosted hair guy is running the numbers. He took my keys, so I can’t leave.”
Come on, frosted hair guy! Give us a deal! And he does, but it’s more than we wanted to spend. But oh, it’s so much prettier than the practical car. It’s bad enough I have to drive a minivan now, can’t I drive a pretty one?
The answer is, no. No, I can’t. Because that is a dumb move, spending money we don’t have. And anyway, we have four kids now, we will never have anything pretty again. We’ll probably never have any money again, either. Or privacy in the bathroom.
So we’ll get the practical car, the one with the cloth seats so the kids can throw up on them and smoosh Goldfish crackers into the crevices and affix My Little Pony stickers to the back windows. Because those are the things that happen in our vehicles now.
Reality. It’s no fun. But neither are minivans, so there you have it.

(Betsy Swenson can be reached at sliindelife@gmail.com.)

By CHRISSY SMITH
Slidell Sports Editor

SLIDELL — After waiting three days, Northshore High School graduate Chris Faulk got his call.
Faulk signed a free-agent deal with the Cleveland Browns to extend his football career.
Originally, Faulk was thought to be a first-round draft pick, but in 2012, during a practice after LSU’s season opener, he tore two ligaments in his right knee. Faulk, who is 6-feet-6 and 325 pounds, was still hoping to go as high in the draft as the third round. In fact, several analysts were predicting him to go in the third round. He was rated the No. 11 offensive tackle and the No. 112 player overall by NFLdraftscout.com.
“I had no clue what was going on, or where I was going to go. I was just waiting to get called,” Faulk said. “I kind of figured once the third round was over that I would sign a free -gent deal. The teams were really going to work with me.”
Faulk said that because of his injury, he was not drafted in the projected round.
“I talked to quite a few teams including the New Orleans Saints. I talked to every team in the NFL, and I am excited. I signed my contract Tuesday with them, and everything is what I thought it was going to be,” Faulk said.
Because of his injury, which required two surgeries, he was unable to run or do drills during pre-draft workouts. One week prior to the draft, Faulk met with the New Orleans Saints, according to Northshore Athletic Director Tom Gainey.
“I’m pretty much 100 percent or close to it. I feel good. The Browns are going to work with me, and make sure I get back to 100 percent,” Faulk said. “I’m just going up there to compete. I know it’s going to be different, and I know nothing is going to be given to me. I’m looking to do the best job I can.”

By CHRISSY SMITH
Slidell Sports Editor

SLIDELL – Clay Harris is back at Slidell High School.
The 2001 graduate played pitcher and third base at Slidell, where he helped lead his team to two district titles. He went on to sign a scholarship with Louisiana State University where he played for four years. In 2005, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth round. He played there for four seasons total and finished up in Double A. However, he had to retire because of knee problems.
Now, Harris is an assistant baseball coach back at his alma mater, where he is doing what he believes he was called to do.
“I have had knee problems for quite a few years now. I could still hit, but as far as running around, moving, playing the field — it was really hampering my abilities. A couple of days before I was supposed to report for the 2009 season, I called and said I wasn’t coming in,” Harris said.
The third baseman’s knee problems stemmed from cartilage problems that were leading to arthritis settling in. There was no cushioning or padding in the knee – it was just bone on bone. Harris had surgery after the 2007 season, which was a procedure that punctured holes in his bones that would eventually turn into scar tissue to act like cartilage in his knee. However, the surgery didn’t work, and although Harris worked it out, he was not able to return to the sport he loves.
“I couldn’t really watch baseball after that. I was living in Baton Rouge, so I re-enrolled in LSU and finished up my degree. I did some baseball lessons with travel teams for two years, but that was it, along with school,” Harris said.
He then got his degree in history, and started working in sales for Sherwin Williams.
“I wanted to coach and teach, but I needed a certificate that I couldn’t get right away. So I decided to try sales,” Harris said with a bit of a chuckle.
“I soon found out I could get my certificate quicker than I thought, so I immediately started applying for jobs in Baton Rouge that had baseball coaching jobs,” Harris said.

“I was really hoping for anything, but when (Slidell principal) Mr. Percy contacted me and said there was a possible opening, I got excited. I didn’t think it would be a possibility,” Harris said.
Harris commented that his parents and brother, Will, also graduated from Slidell High so he wasn’t hesitant at all to teach and coach at his former school. Right now, Harris and his wife of six years, plus their five-year-old daughter and eight-month-old son, are renting a house in Abita Springs. However, if his wife can find a teaching job in Slidell, they will move here.
Since being at Slidell High, Harris said he has felt very comfortable.
“There’s a lot of faculty here that taught me, and there are some that I went to school with. There’s a lot of alumni teaching here, so it’s like we are a big family. It’s been great. The people I get to work with have made my first year a lot easier. I couldn’t imagine doing this at a school I wasn’t familiar with. Having some former teachers mentor me has helped a lot, too,” Harris said.
As far as coaching high school students, Harris said they don’t all know about his background.
“It was cool if they knew me, but I feel like I wanted to win them over. It’s been a great experience on the baseball field. I’ve been working with hitters and infielders, and it’s been a lot of fun getting to know the guys. Coming in, I didn’t know any of them, and at the beginning of the year, they would come into my classroom, and I didn’t know them as baseball players yet,” Harris said.
He said the biggest adjustment is going from playing to coaching.
“You pick up parts of the game when you play as far as situations go. One of the difficult things is relaying my knowledge in terms that the players can understand. I was a hitter, but now it’s about telling them how to hit the baseball. That’s been something that I’ve been trying to get better at,” Harris said.
The Slidell Tigers played in the first-round of the Class 5A playoffs on Wednesday, after the Slidell Independent’s deadline. But Harris said he was looking forward to the postseason.
“We kind of limped across the finish line, but our goal at the beginning of the season was to make the playoffs. Now it’s a clean slate and everybody is 0-0. You never know. There are plenty of wild cards who win the World Series, and it doesn’t matter your record or what seed you have now,” Harris said.
The former LSU player added that while some day he would like to be a head coach, he is happy with where he is right now being part of the Slidell High baseball team.
“I don’t see that changing anytime soon,” Harris said. “I love being part of these teenagers’ lives.”
Harris’ brother Will was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2006. On April 3 of this year, he was picked up off waivers by the Oakland Athletics.

Bonnie Sue Deshotel Gibbs passed away on Sunday, April 28, 2013.
She was 57 years old.
She was a native of Slidell and mother of Carole Gibbs; daughter of Charles Paul and Betty Jean Deshotel; grandmother to Joshua Gibbs and Logan Gaskill and the late Brice Gaskill; great- grandmother to Sophia Gibbs; future mother-in-law to Jereme Morella; and sister of Steven Deshotel.
She attended Slidell High School.
In lieu of flowers, send contributions to the Bonnie Gibbs Funeral Services account at ASI Credit Union on 1322 Gause Boulevard in Slidell, LA.
Visitation was held on May 11 with services following at the Doyle Funeral Home on 2430 Fourth Street in Slidell.

Michael Bruce Browning, of Slidell, passed away on Wednesday, May 1, 2013.
He was 51 years old.
He was the husband of Debbie Browning; father of Megan Browning, Kirby Browning and Nicole Everette; son of Penny Collins and husband Frank Collins and the late Bruce Browning; son-in-law of Joyce Daws and Gerald Daws; and brother of Tim Browning.
He was a native of Jacksonville, Fla. and a resident of Slidell for the past nine years.
Funeral services were held on May 6 at Honaker Funeral Home in Slidell.
Browning’s final wish was to have his cremated remains placed in an underwater cave that he dove and explored often. The family will follow through with this final wish at a later date.
Consider a donation in honor of Michael to the National Association for Cave Diving at http://safecavediving.com/store/donations.html.
Visit www.honakerforestlawn.com to sign guestbook.
Arrangements by Honaker Funeral Home, Inc., Slidell.

Jeff “Jeffro” Lynn Morrison passed away at 12:45 a.m. on Thursday, May 2, 2013, at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.
He was 52 years old.
He was born March 30, 1961, in Carbondale to Lynn Alan and Shirley Ann (Hawkins) Morrison.
Survivors include daughter, Liana Aucoin of Slidell; father, Lynn Alan Morrison of Marble Hill, Mo.; mother, Shirley Ann Morrison of Carbondale; brother, Vernon (Peggy Lynn) Morrison of Zwolle, La.; sisters, Marcy (Stafford) Part and Mary Vincent, both of Carbondale; and best friend, Brent Schlossser of Carbondale.
He is preceded in death by a brother, James Gregory “Greg” Morrison.
Services were held on May 7 at Meredith Funeral Home, Carbondale, with Rev. Dr. K. Stephen Combs who officiated.
Memorial donations are the preferred form of remembrance, and may be made to his daughter, Liana, for her continuing education, in care of Mary Vincent, and will be accepted by the funeral home.
To leave an online condolence, visit, www.meredithfh.com.

Dee Milner, of Slidell, passed away on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at Ochsner Northshore Hospital in Slidell.
She was the mother of Deaon Matson and Dedra Gleason; grandmother of Kaylee; daughter of Jack D. Wooten and the late Mary Elizabeth Burditt; step-daughter of Bette Wooten; sister of Steven Wooten and Jacque Reeder (Donald); step-sister of Darin and Joe Lake; and aunt of Alec Wooten, Ashton Wooten, Jamie Perkins, and Mary Joe Dean.
All services will be private.
Visit www.honakerforestlawn.com to sign guestbook.
Arrangements by Honaker Funeral Home, Inc., Slidell.

Ronald Kenneth Gould, of Lacombe, passed away on Tuesday April 23, 2013.
He was 66 years old.
He is survived by his wife, Susan Gould; children, Angelle and Jeremy Dubourg, and Veronica Gould; two grandchildren, Maria and Savannah Gould; two brothers, Raymond and Richard Gould; and five sisters, Sandra, Susan, Terry and Lisa Gould, and Ann Ursso.
Gould is preceded in death by his parents, Kenneth and Ila Gould.
D.T. Williams Funeral Home, 67525 Hwy. 41, Pearl River, in charge of arrangements.

Rudolph Herrin Jr. passed away on Wednesday, May 1, 2013.
He was 57 years old.
He was a welder in the construction industry.
Herrin is survived by a son, Rudolph D. Herrin; two sisters, Doll Herrin and Patricia McManus-Herrin; and two grandchildren, Renee Alaniz-Herin and Nicholas Herrin.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Douglas and Velma Herrin; sister, Pamela Herrin; and two brothers, Glen Parks and Rex Herrin.
Funeral services were held on May 4 from the chapel of D.T. Williams Funeral Home, 67525 Hwy. 41, Pearl River.

Ruth P. Jenny, of Slidell, passed away on Monday, April 29, 2013, at Greenbrier Nursing Home in Slidell.
She was 89 years old.
She was the wife of the late Matthew J. Jenny Jr.; mother of Matthew J. Jenny III and the late Ruth M. Litolff and David S. Jenny; daughter of the late Manuel T. and Mirza Honorine Peyret Pinto; and sister of the late Manuel T. Pinto Jr.
She is also survived by nine grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.
She was a native of New Orleans, a former longtime resident of Chalmette, and most recently, a resident of Slidell.
Funeral services were held on May 3 at Honaker Funeral Home in Slidell.
Visit www.honakerforestlawn.com to sign guestbook.
Arrangements by Honaker Funeral Home, Inc., Slidell.

Marilyn Langston, of Slidell, passed away on Sunday, April 28, 2013, at her home.

She was 89 years old.
She was the wife of the late Joseph C. Langston; mother of Joanne Langston, Janice B. Blake, and Will Henry Langston; daughter of the late James S. and Leila H. Whitney; foster child of Sollie H. and Lavonia Burge; sister of Elnor Lee, Milli Scott, and the late Mae Lee, Nona Talley, Jean Lee, Hazel King, Jaimie Devinney, and Juanita Varnado; and sister of Jim “Sonny Boy” Burge, Jean Ladner, and Judy Smith.
She is also survived by three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
She was a native of Monroe, La. and a resident of Slidell since 1944.
She also taught school at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Slidell and was a substitute teacher with the St. Tammany School System in Slidell.
Funeral services were held on May 4 at Lamb of God Lutheran Church, 57210 Allen Rd., Slidell.
Visit www.honakerforestlawn.com to sign guestbook.

Leola “Maw Maw”?Klein, of Slidell, passed away on Saturday, April 27, 2013.
She was 96 years old.
She was the wife of the late John H. Klein; mother of the late James “Jimmy” Klein; mother-in-law of Gayle Ann Klein; daughter of the late Andre and Beatrice Lanclos; and sister of Lois Lanclos Broussard, Robert Irwin and the late Raymond Lanclos.
She is also survived by four grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson.
She was a resident of Slidell since 1993.
A funeral mass was held on May 2 at St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church in Slidell.
Visit www.honakerforestlawn.com to sign guestbook.
Arrangements by Honaker Funeral Home, Inc., Slidell.