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Ochsner St. Mary will be offering a drive through flu shot fair Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at the hospital.
Flu shots are available for patients, ages six months and older, by appointment. To book an appointment, visit ochsner.org/flu or call 1-866-OCHSNER.
Patients should bring an ID and their insurance card to their appointment.
The flu can have a serious impact on the health of communities, and this year with COVID-19, it’s critical for everyone to get a flu shot to protect themselves and others, Ochsner said in a news release.
For more information, visit ochsner.org/flu.

Stephensville Elementary may be small in numbers, but the Lower St. Martin Parish school is doing big things on the state and national level.
Last week, the school was named one of 10 Louisiana schools that have won 2020 National Blue Ribbon Schools awards.
Stephensville was one of three Louisiana public schools recognized as “Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools,” the U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday. These schools rank among Louisiana’s highest in narrowing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students.
Principal Chris Shirley said it is “an extremely rare honor” to receive this national recognition. Less than 400 schools nationwide were named Blue Ribbon schools this year.
He deflected any praise for the honor, giving it all to his teachers.
“The teachers are really the ones who are pulling the majority of the weight,” Shirley said. “They’re the ones who are coming to school prepared every day. They’re the ones who are with the students for seven and a half hours a day, making sure they get what they need, teaching to a very high level of rigor, and it’s because of that and their dedication that the students are succeeding.”
Stephensville Elem-entary has a student population of 117 in grades prekindergarten through 8th grade. Data for the award was based on the 2018-19 school year when enrollment was around 125.
As for their award, Stephensville was recognized for its work to bring economically disadvantaged students up to par with their peers, Shirley said.
“Students who are economically disadvantaged or in impoverished situations tend to do more poorly than peers who are from homes who make a higher mean income,” Shirley said. “That’s just a sad fact of the world.”
He said more than half of Stephensville Elementary’s students are classified as economically disadvantaged, but the school still is excelling, as evident by the National Blue Ribbon honor.
“Basically, we are bringing up the kids who typically struggle the most at a rate that is better than the national average,” Shirley said.
He said the key to that has been two fold.
The first factor is the teachers’ work ethic, Shirley said, noting that even though they work from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., their job goes beyond those hours.
“It’s really an endless, tireless profession that when done correctly, you see amazing results, but when done correctly, it takes up an immense amount of time,” he said.
The second aspect is a sense of community.
“We don’t have a lot of issues because our community is supportive of our school,” Shirley said. “They believe in us, and they know that we’re trying, so I think that goes a long way.”

A Louisiana state Senate committee on Tuesday advanced without objection a bill requiring the governor to consult with a legislative committee before extending an emergency declaration beyond 30 days, though the governor would not need the committee’s final approval.
Also on Tuesday, the speaker of the state House of Representatives filed a measure that would stop Gov. John Bel Edwards from extending the current COVID-19 emergency declaration.
Under current law, the majority of a single body can end a declared emergency. The bill by Senate President Page Cortez and Sen. Patrick McMath, both Republicans, would raise the bar, requiring the approval of both the state Senate and House of Representatives.
Cortez said the first draft of his bill called for committee approval before the governor could extend the emergency declaration, but he decided that would infringe on the executive branch’s constitutional role. In response to a legislator who said the proposal would water down the legislature’s authority, Cortez said he pointed out that petitions circulating in the House to end the current COVID-19 emergency declaration have failed to garner a majority.
The committee would have the ability to call witnesses and gather information and report back to their colleagues, who would then be able to make a better-informed decision about whether to overturn the declaration, he said.
“I don’t think it’s our job to tell the governor what to do,” Cortez said. “Nor is it his job to tell us what to do.”
The proposed Legislative Emergency Declaration Review Committee would include the speaker and speaker pro tempore of the House, the president and president pro tempore of the Senate, the chairs of the House and Senate spending and health committees, and two additional legislators whom leadership would appoint. The legislation also brings the Louisiana Supreme Court into the review process.
Republicans have become increasingly frustrated with the business restrictions Edwards, a Democrat, has imposed in the name of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Louisiana currently is in its versi
on of Phase Three of the White House-approved road map meant to balance public health and economic viability.
Republican House Speaker Clay Schexnayder has proposed a resolution that would temporarily suspend Edwards’ ability to extend the COVID-19 public health emergency. The concurrent resolution, which would need approval by both bodies but would not require the governor’s signature, would take effect upon adoption and expire 30 days after the end of the current special session, which must end by Oct. 27.
Schexnayder’s resolution says the business restrictions were necessary during the early stages of the pandemic. But now, the state’s health care capacity no longer is in danger of being overwhelmed, medical supplies are readily available, and the public is better informed about the disease. Meanwhile, the “drastic measures” still in place are “creating unnecessary and tragic business and societal hardships,” he argues.
As a result of the restrictions, hundreds of thousands of Louisianans have filed unemployment claims since the beginning of the pandemic in March.
Continued unemployment claims, those filing claims at least two weeks in a row, stood at 238,724 the week ending Sept. 19. By comparison, continued claims were at 14,515 for the week ending Sept. 21, 2019.
In a recent statement, Edwards pointed out that Louisiana remains first in the nation for COVID-19 cases per capita, and that his actions are in line with other states and the federal government’s recommendations.
“Put simply, the measures we have taken in Louisiana are working and we are making significant progress,” he said. “However, to abandon these efforts in defiance of the unanimous advice of the public health experts and the Trump administration would seriously jeopardize the lives of our people and the gains we have made.”

Reverend A.J. Vaughn Jr., age 83, a resident of Cleveland, passed away Monday, September 21, 2020, in a local hospital.
Reverend Vaughn was born in Morgan City, Louisiana on July 2, 1937 and he was the son of the late Ethel Belanger Vaughn and Alden Joseph Vaughn Sr. His wife, Roseetta Vaughn and his half-sisters, Grace Dupree and Evelyn Robison, also preceded him in death.
Reverend Vaughn graduated from Morgan City, Louisiana High School and he received his Bachelor’s Degree from Lee College (Lee University). Along with his wife Rosetta, they served as missionary’s in England and Belgium and they pastored churches in England, Belgium, North Carolina and South Carolina. He was a U.S. Army Veteran serving in the Korean War. Reverend Vaughn also taught school at Michigan Avenue and Trewhitt. He enjoyed sports and he attended the Birchwood Church of God of Prophecy where he taught Sunday School.
Survivors include his sons, Mika Vaughn and his wife Kathy of Cleveland, and Timothy “Tim” Vaughn and his wife Shelia of Ft. Myers, Florida; his grandchildren, Mika Vaughn Jr. and his wife Kari, Cody Vaughn and Adam Vaughn; his great-grandchildren, Avarie and Alivia Vaughn; his half-sister, Mildred Raggio of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and several nieces and nephews also survive.
The Remembrance of Life Service will be conducted on Saturday, October 3, 2020, at 11 a.m. at the Jim Rush Funeral and Cremation Services North Ocoee Chapel with Reverend Jerry Jett and David Solar officiating. Interment will follow in the Sunset Memorial Gardens with Reverend Ken Nope officiating. Family and friends will serve as casket bearers. The family will receive friends from 9 until 11 a.m. Saturday, October 3, 2020, at the Jim Rush Funeral and Cremation Services North Ocoee Chapel who has charge of the arrangements. You may share your condolences and your memories with the Vaughn family at www.jimrushfuneralhomes.com.