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Six inducted into college honor society

Mon, 04/01/2019 - 10:32am

Six Tri-City area residents were recently initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. All are students at Nicholls State.
Inducted were:
—Alexandra Chellette of Berwick.
—Kayla Falgout of Morgan City.
—Anne Henry of Morgan City.
—Valeria Nolazco of Morgan City.
—Laura Nolazco of Morgan City.
—Jennifer Protich of Patterson.
These residents are among approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff members and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter.
Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.
Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 under the leadership of undergraduate student Marcus L. Urann who had a desire to create a different kind of honor society: one that recognized excellence in all academic disciplines. Today, the Society has chapters on more than 300 campuses in the United States and the Philippines. Its mission is “to recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.”

Carl Armato returns for Patterson book event

Mon, 04/01/2019 - 10:31am

Patterson native and Novant Health CEO Carl Armato is coming back to his hometown for a book signing event to share his newest book, “A Future with Hope.”
His book signing will be 5-6 p.m. Wednesday at Atchafalaya at Idlewild, 400 Cotton Road, Patterson
The publisher says offers raw and honest insights into his lifelong journey with type 1 diabetes, delving into how his diagnosis has shaped his leadership of a health care network that includes more than 29,500 physicians and employees, and 580 medical centers, outpatient facilities and physician clinics across the Southeast.
Armato grew up in Patterson with his mom, dad and two brothers, attending Patterson High School in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Before moving to North Carolina, he held executive positions at First Care Physicians and General Health System in Baton Rouge.
Armato led Novant Health’s efforts to finalize the implementation of EPIC, the electronic health record, in all 445-plus physician practices across the Novant Health system, three years early and under budget. A Louisiana native, he is also a certified public accountant and holds a bachelor and master’s degree in business administration.
The event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for $20 each, with all proceeds going to the local Juvenile Research Diabetes Foundation.

Central Catholic Students of the Month

Mon, 04/01/2019 - 10:30am

Submitted Photo
Central Catholic has announced its March Students of the Month. They are, front row: sixth-grader Keegan Mason, seventh-grader Madison Simmons and eighth-grader Jillian Morrell. Back row: ninth-grader Lucy Hamer, 10th-grader Emma Hymel, 11th-grader Rayne Hotard and 12th-grader Christopher Templet.

Five million word reader

Mon, 04/01/2019 - 10:28am

Central Catholic Elementary School announced that Emmy Robison, fifth grade, has reached the 5 million word level during this 2018-2019 school year. After reading each book, students are tested through the Accelerated Reader Program on classroom or library computers verifying their accomplishment. Quoting Emmy: "In first grade, I read two million words for the Accelerated Reader program. In second grade, I read three million words. The trend continued in third grade, when I read four million words, which was a school record, and in fourth grade, I read five million words. This year, my goal is to read six million words. … "

Central Catholic Beta Club inductees

Mon, 04/01/2019 - 10:26am

Central Catholic recently held its spring induction ceremony for the National Junior Beta Club. This club recognizes high academic achievement and a nurturing, worthy character, fosters leadership skills, and encourages service to others. Shown, front row: Sofia Kiyanfar, Aiden Garcille, Brandon Cordero, Bodie Hoffpauir, Thomas Nini and Allie Devillier. Second row: Samantha Stansbury, Oliviah Mensman, Madison Simmons, Alexa Laubach, Charlie Ann Fuhrer, Talen Black, Seth Hepler and Carter Whipple. Third row: Jack Lipari, Emily Jensen, Kamille Lightfoot, Angel Geason, Jayvyn Raymond, Cade Menina and Miley Bruni.

Radio logs for April 1

Mon, 04/01/2019 - 10:21am

The following are the radio dispatch logs from the Morgan City Police Department. To report unlawful or suspicious activity, call the police department at 985-380-4605.

Friday, March 29

7:09 a.m. 7300 block of La. 182; Alarm.

7:50 a.m. Federal Avenue and Freret Street; Accident.

8:09 a.m. 800 block of Victor II Boulevard; Officer stand by.

10:12 a.m. 1000 block of Sixth Street; Theft.

10:38 a.m. Brashear Avenue and Seventh Street; Accident.

11:10 a.m. La. 182 and La. 70; Accident.

12:23 p.m. Halsey Street and Railroad Avenue; Traffic incident.

1:05 p.m. 1300 block of Sixth Street; Theft.

1:46 p.m. U.S. 90 West; Accident.

1:54 p.m. 2400 block of Apple Street; Disturbance.

2:20 p.m. 7200 block of La. 182; Harassment.

3:37 p.m. 100 block of Mallard Street; Disturbance.

4 p.m. 1200 block of Victor II Boulevard; Fire.

6:43 p.m. 6400 block of La. 182 East; Complaint.

6:57 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Complaint.

6:57 p.m. 200 block of Pecos Street; Complaint.

6:58 p.m. 1000 block of La. 70; Medical emergency.

8:55 p.m. 7700 block of La. 182 East; Suspicious person.

9:47 p.m. 600 block of Brashear Avenue; Animal complaint.

11:32 pm 1000 block of La. 70; Medical emergency.

Saturday, March 30

12:32 a.m. 7000 block of La. 182 East; Suspicious person.

1:54 a.m. 2300 block of La. 70; Alarm.

1:54 a.m. 300 block of Cardinal Street; Disturbance.

8:57 a.m. 2400 block of Tupelo Street; Medical.

9:21 a.m. 500 block of Orange Street; Complaint.

9:37 a.m. 300 block of Glenwood Street; Theft.

9:46 a.m. La. 182 West; Stalled vehicle.

10:12 a.m. 1000 block of Brashear Avenue; Removal of subject.

10:37 a.m. Eighth and Willard streets; Suspicious subject.

10:46 a.m. 1000 block of Brashear Avenue; Arrest.

11:31 a.m. 200 block of Mallard Street; Medical.

11:32 a.m. 200 block of Halsey Street; Medical.

11:33 a.m. 100 block of Oak Street; Complaint.

12:04 p.m. Everett Street; Complaint.

12:53 p.m. 900 block of David Drive; Alarm.

1:14 p.m. 1000 block of Brashear Avenue; Complaint.

1:20 p.m. 100 block of Eleventh Street; Welfare concern.

2:27 p.m. 600 block of Egle Street; Complaint.

3:33 p.m. 7200 block of La. 182; Arrest.

3:53 p.m. 100 block of Wren Street; Medical.

4:11 p.m. 7500 block of La. 182; Arrest.

6:35 p.m. 1200 block of Victor II Boulevard; Hit and run.

6:36 p.m. 1000 block of La. 70; Building check.

6:38 p.m. 600 block of Louisa Street; Theft.

6:59 p.m. 2000 block of Keith Street; Assistance.

7:28 p.m. Federal Avenue and Freret Street; Vehicle accident.

8:24 p.m. 600 block of General Hodges Street; Assistance.

9:19 p.m. Levee Road; Complaint.

10:42 p.m. 7400 block of La. 182 East; Complaint.

11:30 p.m. 500 block of Hilda Street; Suspicious person.

Sunday, March 31

1:35 a.m. 700 block of Brashear Avenue; Alarm.

2:51 a.m. 500 block of Barrow Street; Complaint.

2:52 a.m. La. 70 near Veterans Boulevard; Medical emergency.

6:02 a.m. 3000 block of Allison Street; Theft.

7:57 a.m. 400 block of Idaho Street; Theft.

9:10 a.m. 1300 block of Victor II Boulevard; Domestic disturbance.

10:45 a.m. 100 block of Egle Street; Possession of stolen property.

12:05 p.m. Federal Avenue and Arenz Street; Reckless driver.

12:32 p.m. 700 block of Duke Street; Warrants.

2:10 p.m. 1200 block of Victor II Boulevard; Alarm.

2:21 p.m. 1100 block of Marguerite Street; Domestic disturbance.

2:58 p.m. 7500 block of La. 182 East; Theft.

3:53 p.m. Ninth and Willard streets; Vehicle accident.

To imagine ‘5G’ future, revisit recent wireless past

Mon, 04/01/2019 - 9:58am

By TALI ARBEL, AP Technology Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The mobile industry is cranking up its hype machine for sleek new “5G” networks that it says will make your phone and everything else faster and wonderful — if you believe the marketing.
But no one can really say how 5G will change your life; many of the apps and services that will exploit its speed haven’t been created yet. Look back at the last big wireless upgrade, though, and you can get a sense of how profound that change might be.
Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, and it quickly become obvious that the era’s 3G wireless networks couldn’t handle millions of people uploading photos of their kid’s playdate to Facebook or obsessing over “Words with Friends.” Not to mention managing their finances, health care and shopping for everything from shoes to homes.
“When the smartphone came out it brought the 3G network to its knees,” Stanford engineering professor Andrea Goldsmith said. “The success of smartphones was because of 4G.”
And 4G speeds, the ones we’re used to today, made possible many of the things we now take for granted on our phones — Instagram, cloud storage, Netflix streaming. Or, for instance, that ride you got home from the bar.
Without 4G, there would be no Uber or Lyft, which need connections fast and strong enough to call a driver on a moment’s notice, show customers where their driver is and give the companies the ability to track drivers in real-time. That’s not something 3G could handle.
Today, about 80 percent of U.S. adults have a smartphone, according to Pew Research Center, while industry group GSMA says 60 percent of the world’s 5 billion cellphones users do, too. Mobile video, including ones created by ordinary people, makes up 60 percent of all data traffic globally, according to telecom-equipment maker Ericsson.
“Video was near-impossible to use effectively on 3G,” said Dan Hays, a mobile networks expert at consultancy PwC. “4G made mobile video a reality.”
Its influence has marked our world. Citizens filmed protests, police violence and revolutions on their phones. TV and movies disconnected from the living-room set and movie theater. Our attention spans were whipsawed by constant pings and constant hot fresh “content.”
To watch Netflix in high-definition video, you need speed of at least 5 megabits per second; that’s where Verizon’s 4G network download speed range started in its early days. (Upload was and remains slower, a frustration for anyone who has ever tried to send a video from a crowd.)
Trying to stream a live video over Facebook, had this feature even existed in the 3G era, “wouldn’t have worked, or it would have worked inconsistently, or only under the best conditions,” said Nikki Palmer, head of product development for Verizon, the largest U.S. mobile carrier. “You would have got failures, you would have got retries, you would have got the equivalent of stalling on the network.”
While 4G brought on a communications revolution and spawned startups now worth billions, even it wasn’t all it was hyped up to be.
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson in March 2011, talked about 4G and cloud computing in an attempt to win support for a proposed acquisition of rival T-Mobile: “Very soon we expect every business process, we expect every system in your home and in your car, every appliance, all your entertainment content, your work, all of your personal data, everything is going to be wirelessly connected.”
Not quite yet. Smart homes are not mainstream, and wireless business processes are a lot of what’s exciting the wireless industry about 5G.
Hays remembers talking about the possibilities 4G would create for virtual and augmented reality. Those, of course, have yet to materialize. Just wait ‘til next G.

U.S. judge: School’s rule for girls to wear skirts breaks law

Mon, 04/01/2019 - 9:57am

By EMERY P. DALESIO, The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina charter school promoting traditional values engaged in unconstitutional sex discrimination by requiring girls to wear skirts, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard ruled that Charter Day School can’t enforce the skirts-only rule as part of its dress code that punishes violations with suspensions and even expulsion. No child has been expelled for violating the dress code since the school opened in 2000, Howard said in a decision filed on Thursday.
But girls are clearly treated differently than boys at the kindergarten through 8th grade school in Leland, about 10 miles (16.1 kilometers) west of Wilmington, Howard ruled. That’s a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection requirements.
The guardians of three girls attending the school sued the school in 2016. They said the dress code forces girls to be colder in the winter and “forces them to pay constant attention to the positioning of their legs during class, distracting them from learning, and has led them to avoid certain activities altogether, such as climbing or playing sports during recess, all for fear of exposing their undergarments and being reprimanded by teachers or teased by boys,” the judge said in summarizing the plaintiffs’ arguments.
One of the mothers suing with the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of their daughters said the judge’s decision means a girl’s comfort and freedom to move is on par with their male classmates.
“All I wanted was for my daughter and every other girl at school to have the option to wear pants so she could play outside, sit comfortably, and stay warm in the winter,” Bonnie Peltier said in a statement provided by the ACLU. “But it’s disappointing that it took a court order to force the school to accept the simple fact that, in 2019, girls should have the choice to wear pants.”
Charter schools are public schools — funded by state taxpayers — that are allowed to do many things differently than traditional public schools. In the case of Charter Day School, it is run by a nonprofit organization but contracts with a for-profit company to run business and academic operations.
Howard ruled that though North Carolina charter schools and their nonprofit board members are not the state’s agents in every respect, Charter Day School’s leaders were acting under color of state law when they adopted a disciplinary code that included punishing children who didn’t wear the prescribed uniforms.
Roger Bacon Academy, which runs the school and three other charters in the Wilmington area, and its founder, Baker Mitchell, did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Members of the school’s nonprofit board said its student uniform requiring all students to wear white or navy blue tops tucked into khaki or blue bottoms is part of its traditional values education known to parents when they enroll their children.
Changing any of the school’s specific requirements risks changing its broader goal and results that have included test scores higher than nearby traditional public schools, the judge summarized the board as contending.
But school leaders failed to provide “any facts showing specifically how the skirts requirement furthers this success,” Howard wrote.

Time takes a toll on wife’s figure and husband’s interest

Mon, 04/01/2019 - 9:51am

DEAR ABBY: I have been with my husband for 20 years. I’m 43, and he’s 63. Our sex life has died. He is no longer attracted to me, and he has let me know it. His love is physical, not emotional. I am not the size 4 I was when he met me. As long as my body looks like he wants it to look, he’s into me. If I’m a size 8 or more, he is not at all into me. I have a hard time understanding how he can love me for how I look. Long story short,

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Soap Opera Review: ‘GH’: Total recall the doctor!

Mon, 04/01/2019 - 9:49am

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Brooke and Taylor’s old rivalry over Ridge rose to the surface again after Brooke confronted Taylor, who had kissed Ridge. Quinn was surprised to run into Flo, whom she knew when Flo was younger. DAYS OF OUR LIVES: A vengeful Claire, with help from Eve, made a recording of Tripp admitting that he is marrying Hayley so she wouldn’t be deported. Ciara cared for Ben, who was injured. Marlena recovered from Diana’s attempt to kill her with penicillin. GENERAL HOSPITAL: Anna worried about the memories that Dr. Cabot may have implanted in her brain. Julian urged ...