The St. Tammany division of the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) is holding a very important event on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at the Slidell High Auditorium and I highly suggest parents of junior high and high school students consider attending with their kids.
NAMI St. Tammany will present the documentary film, “My Ascension,” which tells the story of a 16-year-old cheerleader whose suicide attempt left her paralyzed. Emma Benoit then used the experience, and her survival, to begin a mission to use her failed attempt at taking her life to help other young people find hope.
The world our kids are growing up in today is daunting in so many ways, and it is the reason suicide among young people has gotten so high. With total access to the Internet given to kids, they face peer pressure beyond anything most of us grew up with—most of which comes from online.
“My Ascension” will be shown, and then there will be a panel discussion on youth suicide prevention and it is something most parents would probably do well to listen to. Even if you think “my kid would never do that” there are many parents around this country who later realized how naive they were being.
The event starts at 5:30 and is free to attend, however, you need to register online at:
Bit.ly/3SXPwAk
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What a crowd they had at the Slidell Police National Night Out Against Crime event held for the second year at Heritage Park.
SPD Spokesman Det. Daniel Seuzeneau wanted me to be absolutely sure I reported it as a “record crowd,” which it certainly was. For that matter, I showed up early trying to beat some of the attendees since I am on deadline Monday and Tuesday, but I hardly did that as the place was already packed, easily drawing several thousand people by the time the night was over.
I did have a little fun with my buddy by reminding him that a “record crowd” in only the second year might not be something that was really such a big deal. After all, they added lots of extra freebies this year in the way of Halloween candy and more free food—which always brings a lot of folks out.
But regardless how it happened, I do have to state as a fair and honest journalist that Det. Seuzeneau was 100 percent correct and did have a “record crowd” for the second annual Night Out.
Way to go Daniel.
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The fun continues in the coming weeks with more festivals and fairs coming for the Slidell community.
The Slidell Food & Fun Fest returns after a three-year hiatus, opening up at the St. Margaret Mary Church and School grounds this Friday night, Oct. 21 and continuing through Sunday evening.
Check out our front-page story in today’s paper for details on the fair. It’s a longtime tradition in our family to head out with kids and grandkids in what should be great fall weather for an outdoor event.
The following weekend brings more fun when the Slidell Historical Antique Association’s 41st annual fair is held in Olde Towne on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 28 and 29, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
On top of that is the return of the very popular Slidell Lions Club “Touch-a-Truck” event at the Fremaux Town Center on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 10 to 3.
The antique fair always draws a huge crowd to the streets of Olde Towne, mostly around First, Second and Erlanger streets where there will be live music playing outside, and so many cool arts and crafts vendors from here and out-of-town.
My wife has a special thing for wooden items, especially these little, bitty bowls, and then of course, so many wooden spoons she needs several places to keep them all. Sorry honey, I guess I gave away your deep, dark secret. Ha.
The “Touch-a-Truck” show is really a special one for kids and their parents since the Lions Club came up with this idea to bring every kind of big vehicle in that they could think of. Police, SWAT teams, firemen, electric companies—you name it and there will be big trucks and many different vehicles for kids to sit in and have their pictures taken.
It was a cool idea the Lions came up with a few years ago and always draws a big crowd.
The Lions are the oldest civic organization in Slidell history and continue to do a lot for the people in this community, particularly in the area of eye screening for kids. Go out and support their event and if I see you there, I just might snap your picture up in some big truck.
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Props to In-and-Out Shipping owner Gerry Vallee who was selected to be part of the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue event, held last weekend in Lynchburg, TN, the home for Jack Daniels.
Vallee placed third in the BBQ chicken division out of outdoor barbecue experts from all around the United States, as well as others who came from other countries.
The annual event in Lynchburg draws over 40,000 visitors to the small city for what has to be a bunch of fun with some of the best BBQ tasting you’ve probably ever had.
Kevin Chiri can be reached by e-mail at kevinchiri@gmail.com.