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BATON ROUGE — The LSU AgCenter will present the Corn Maze at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden in Baton Rouge every Saturday in October from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Participants may purchase tickets for two-hour sessions at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. each day.
In addition to the maze, participants can take part in a hayride, children’s obstacle course, pumpkin patch, farm animals, antique tractors, hay mountain climb, sunflower fields and a rock hunt to find a curious creature to take home. The event also will feature a picnic area and local food vendors.
Admission for each event is $15 per person, with children 3 and under admitted free.
Advance-purchase tickets, which are required, are available online at https://bontempstix.com and clicking on the preferred date and time.
Visitors will be required to practice social distancing and wear masks in designated areas.
Sponsored by the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden, proceeds from the Corn Maze events support the educational programs at the Botanic Gardens.
The Botanic Gardens is located in Burden Museum and Gardens at 4560 Essen Lane just off Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge.
For more information, contact the Botanic Gardens at 225-763-3990 or botanicgardens@agcenter.lsu.edu.

DEAR ABBY: What is acceptable after a breakup occurs? Several years ago, I reached out to an ex-girlfriend. We had dated for six months, but she broke up with me to take a job in another state. A year later, I heard through mutual friends that she had recently moved back. I didn’t call or text, but I did send an email asking how she was doing and if she’d like to talk.
She completely freaked out! She threatened to get a restraining order and told many of our mutual friends that I had been stalking her for a year. From that experience I learned never to contact an ex-girlfriend if they initiate the breakup.
Fast-forward: I recently ran into another ex-girlfriend who initiated the breakup. She told me that for an entire year after that breakup she hoped I would call her and, when I didn’t, it proved I had never loved her. Abby, I feel like I can’t win. It’s similar to how some women say they won’t let a guy kiss them unless they ask first, and others say if a guy asks, he’s a wimp and they would refuse. As a man, I feel like I’m in an impossible position.
No matter what I do, half the women on the planet will either view it as too aggressive or too passive. Help!
CONFOUNDED IN OREGON

DEAR CONFOUNDED: Welcome to reality. Accept that no matter what you do, you can’t please everyone.
If the only contact you had with that first ex-girlfriend was ONE email after her return to your city, then she was either grandstanding to get attention or it was a symptom of emotional instability. As to your second ex, men with self-esteem rarely call back after being rejected because once is enough.
Please don’t let those two “dolls” sour you on all women. As you know, the #MeToo movement has highlighted the importance of consent. Asking a woman before you make a move is always prudent.

DEAR ABBY: I have struggled with my weight for years. My husband doesn’t eat sweets, but we have a friend who insists on dropping off trays of dozens of cupcakes, candies, cookies, etc. I appreciate the time, money and effort, but I’m finally on an eating program that’s working for me. I told her (nicely) that while I appreciate her gesture, I can’t be trusted alone with such goodies, so please share them with folks who have better self-control. Well! She swore at me and told me to lose her number.
To say the least, I was shocked. Abby, I was as gentle and appreciative as could be. I explained that I have a problem and I’m the only one here who indulges in such foods. Was I wrong? What gives? I would donate them, but since I have a problem with sweets, I prefer not to have them in my house.
SWEET LOVE/HATE IN NEW JERSEY

DEAR SWEET: You did nothing wrong; you did yourself an important favor. That woman is not only not a friend, but she is also someone who cares nothing about your health and well-being. She is a “saboteur” with a vested interest in keeping you heavy.
I admire your determination to take a stand on behalf of your eating program and your health. It took courage, and I applaud you for doing it. Sadly, too many people are afraid to do what you did.
***
Abby shares more than 100 of her favorite recipes in two booklets: “Abby’s Favorite Recipes” and “More Favorite Recipes by Dear Abby.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $16 to: Dear Abby, Cookbooklet Set, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

While the St. Mary Parish School System still needs more details on the state’s move to Phase Three of its reopening plan during the COVID-19 pandemic to make a final decision, Superintendent Teresa Bagwell said all students potentially could return to campus for in-person learning by the end of this month.
The move to in-person learning comes after Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Thursday morning he would be moving the state into Phase Three Friday, with more details to come Friday in his 2 p.m. press conference.
For St. Mary Parish, Bagwell told the school board during its monthly meeting Thursday that local decisions will be made after they receive those parameters in the Phase Three plan.
“We anticipated obviously that at some point soon the state would transition into a Phase Three set of circumstances, and we really are excited that it happened so quickly. … There’s no replacement for a teacher in a classroom and students in the classroom and all of the interactions that occur to help kids learn, so we’re really excited,” Bagwell said following the meeting.
St. Mary Parish’s plans for the 2020-21 school year, which began Tuesday, were to have elementary students attend school daily, while those in junior high and high school would attend school twice per week and work virtually the remaining three days. The junior high and high school enrollments were split, so that the schools had only 50% occupancy at one time.
Parents also could enroll their students in virtual learning where they attended class from home.
With the move to Phase Three, Bagwell said parents of students in grades 6-12 will have the option of enrolling their students in the virtual learning program that has been in place in St. Mary Parish for about a decade or they can send their students to school.
The virtual learning program was added for elementary students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade this year, and Bagwell said parents who want their children to remain in virtual learning in those grades would be handled on a case-by-case basis.
However, just days into the school year, there have been numerous requests by students to opt out of the virtual learning program and enroll in in-person learning.
“I will tell you that many of our students who are returning are in that K-5 group, because it is a difficult set of circumstances to be able to learn virtually when you’re so young,” Bagwell said.

Various relief efforts in St. Mary Parish, whether through school, church or community organizations, are helping those in southwest Louisiana communities as they recover from damage inflicted by Hurricane Laura last month.
Scrolling through Facebook, it’s not hard to find some type of relief effort being done or completed to help those in need in southwest Louisiana.
More is coming, too, as the Crossing Place Church in Patterson is sending two groups of volunteers Saturday — one to provide food to affected families via Convoy of Hope’s distribution center and another to help with demolition work and clean-up of Celebration Worship Center in Sulphur and the community.
Also, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12182 and Auxiliary, who fed and provided supplies to those displaced in Abbeville hotels, will be making a return trip, too.
Auxiliary President Claudia Boudreaux said she learned of the need for help in Abbeville via social media.
On Monday, she said they fed about 100 people and had a trailer of supplies for them to collect items as needed.
She said the group will return next week on a yet-to-be-determined day to provide an evening meal, noting that during the day, people had gone to their damaged homes or utility workers were making repairs.
“Next week when we do the evening meal, there should be more people,” she said.
As for the Crossing Place work, anyone is invited to help, regardless of whether they are a church member. Those interested in attending the all-day event should text “serve” to 337-243-6005, and they will be able to complete an application. More information will be provided to them Thursday afternoon.
The group also is looking for donations of the following: water, gas and gas cans as well as tarps to cover exposed areas in buildings and homes. Monetary donations also will be accepted to be given where donors wish or to purchase more of the above items.
School relief efforts have taken place such as Berwick High School’s volleyball team, which has adopted Sam Houston High School in Moss Bluff, while Central Catholic High School’s football team has adopted Vinton.
Berwick High School Volleyball Coach Lianne Seumanu said she felt her team needed to help out in southwest Louisiana however they could, so she contacted Danielle Clayton Courtney, a Patterson High alum who works in the education system in the Lake Charles area. Courtney connected Seumanu with Sam Houston High School volleyball coach Rene Tholen Fontenot, a Berwick High alum who Courtney used to work with, and Berwick adopted Sam Houston High School.
Meanwhile, Central Catholic and Vinton are scheduled to open the football season on Oct. 8. Vinton, is coached by Lark Hebert, who Central Catholic Coach Tommy Minton has known for years. Minton said the southwest Louisiana community was one that was struggling to get supplies in the aftermath of Laura.
Mother Nature prevented the schools from playing a year ago as the effects from the weather system Imelda flooded the area.
Boy Scouts from Troop 41 in Patterson and Troop 49 in Morgan City and Cub Scouts from Pack 438 in Morgan City and Pack 242 in Patterson also made a trip to Lake Charles where they fed about 800 people and provided supplies to first responders. They were assisted by numerous local companies and individuals, according to a Facebook post by Troop 41 Scoutmaster Jeremy Price.
The work in southwest Louisiana is not limited to volunteer groups providing relief efforts or supplies, either.
Four St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office employees, Deputy Dylan Toups, Sgt. Chad Wilson, Lt. 1st Class Dustin Kennedy and Capt. Jeremy Green, volunteered and were sent to the area to help with law enforcement in these areas and help those affected by Hurricane Laura.
“Sometimes people, especially those not close to harm’s way, don’t realize the impact a storm like this can have in a community,” St. Mary Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith said. “Having been there, we know and understand how important it is to help, aid and assist.
“We had no problems getting volunteers and hope our assistance brings some relief to this devastating situation.”
It’s certainly a situation that isn’t lost on Boudreaux how lucky the Tri-City area is.
“We were blessed that it didn’t come our way,” she said. “We might not be so blessed the next time.”
But instead of recovering, the local groups are doing what they can to help out.