Weekly Press Week of Jan 07, 2010

INDEXLocal & State ...........................2

Commentary ............................4

Business ...................................5

Religion ...................................6

Health ......................................7

THEWEEKLYPRESS.COM Celebrating 34 Years Of Service To The Baton Rouge Community 225.775.2002

STATE & LOCAL NEWS BuSiNESS NEWS HEALTH NEWS

CLASSifiEd Buying or selling a service, looking for for a good job or a good used car? Check out the classifeds .

WEATHErizATiON PrOgrAmS The $5 billion included in the eco-nomic recovery bill for weatheriza-tion is hitting the streets and in 2010 that means more green jobs, lower heating and cooling bills for low-income families and more energy-efficient homes...See Page 3

SPriTE STEP-Off PLANNEd AT SuThe Sprite Step-Off will be held, Jan. 16, in the F.G. Clark Activity Center. Get tickets now at HYPERLINK “http://www.spritestepoff.com/tick-ets” SPRITESTEPOFF.COM/TICKETS. ...See Page 5

JANuAry CErviCAL HEALTH mONTHJanuary is Cervical Health Awareness Month and a prime time to highlight the importance of routine Pap tests. Raising awareness among women with disabilities is especially impor-tant ...See Page 8

According to United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings, which were released last month, Louisiana moved up from 50th to 47th, marking the state’s highest ranking since the annual study began. What played a key part in this up-ward trend for our state? A decrease in the rate of smoking that moved Louisiana up six spots to 35th in the country....Page 2

NATiONAL/STATE & COmmuNiTy WATCH

THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2010 a people’s publication Vol. 34 • No. 38

b a t o n r o u g e , l o u i s i a n a

rELigiON NEWSBaton Rouge native Stacey Joseph and The Word & Worship Band will perform during this intimate night of dinner and praise for the New Year. Local Gospel artist Ian Von will also perform...See Page 6

By Hazel Trice edneyNNPA Editor-in-Chief

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – As 2009 ended with Black unemployment rates at 15.6 percent - more than twice the rate of a decade ago , a dramatic five points more than a year ago, and twice the White unemployment rate - civil rights leaders are calling on President Obama to pointedly use his ‘bully pul-pit’ on behalf of African-Americans.

“I think there’s a need for an addi-tional stimulus package and the presi-dent needs to use his bully pulpit to make sure that not only is the money provided, but that governors, mayors and local officials actually spend it on the most vulnerable communities in our cities and states,” says Harvard Professor Charles Ogletree, director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice.

In an interview with the NNPA News Service, Ogletree says special attention must be focused on “getting jobs to people, who are not just skilled or semi-skilled, but even the unskilled workers. That will be an important component of the stimulus packet as early as this spring.”

Ogletree was referring to Presi-dent Obama’s contemplation of yet another stimulus package as a second shot to the economy that would be more pointed toward jobs rather than bail-outs of banks, big business and lending institutions.

Moving headlong into 2010, jobs appear to be foremost on the agendas of civil rights spokespersons even as the long-awaited health care bill makes its final hurdles toward the White House. In NNPA interviews, leaders expressed clearly their readiness to take action for economic progress in the trenches.

“Banks got billions of dollars of interest-free money. When we watered the leaves, the water did not come down to the roots,” says the Rev. Jesse Jackson who will host his annual Wall Street Project Economic Summit Jan. 13-15 at the New York Sheraton Hotel. “At the roots we are losing with home foreclo-sures, church foreclosures, credit card scams, and net loss in jobs. So poverty is rising and small business failures are rising because of the lack of access to capital. We now need to reconstruct the economy from bottom up.”

Activists Call on White House to use ‘Bully Pulpit’ for Black Economic Progress

Harvard Professor Charles Ogletree, said, there’s a need for an additional stimulus

package and the president needs to use his bully pulpit to make sure that not

only is the money is provided.

See Bully pulpit, on page 2

BATON ROUGE —With every season of Girl Scout cookies, another generation of girls learn to set goals, make a plan and manage money. As women, they’ll need these skills, whether their goal is to start a business, a family, or both. The mission of the annual Girl Scout Cookie Sale which begins locally on January 15 is to help girls do great things.

“There are a lot of cookies that taste good. These are cookies that do good,” said Alisha Moore, product sales director at Girl Scouts Louisiana East. “When you buy Girl Scout cookies, girls decide where the money goes. Our girls have big hearts and big imaginations, and Girl Scout cookies help bring out the confidence in a girl to turn her dreams into reality.”

According to Moore, the Girl Scouts

Cookie Program is the largest girl-led busi-ness in the country with over 200 million boxes sold annually nationwide. Last year, Girl Scouts in southeast Louisiana sold over 1 million boxes of cookies, with all proceeds remaining locally to fund both council and troop activities, maintain camp properties, fund recruitment and training of adult volunteers, and support council-wide initiatives.

“It’s no easy thing to ask a stranger to buy something. You have to speak up, look them in the eye and believe in what you’re doing. And even more importantly, believe in yourself,” said Moore. “Each customer’s purchase and interaction with girls as they hone their customer service

girl Scouts on mission to do great Things

Members of Baton Rouge Girl Scout Cadette Troop 10314 wrapped Gift of Caring cookies for Ishmael, a child from south Louisiana and his friends at St. Jude’s Hospital during last years Girl Scout cookie sale. Shown here from left are Christina Bynum, Zeniqual Gilliam, Danielle Collins and Ashanti Johnson.

Mrs. Brechtel’s ticket number was drawn at the Special Olympics Louisiana headquarters in December.

When asked about win-ning, Nora replied, “I was so surprised to receive the news I had won the Superbowl Pack-age. What a perfect year to win Superbowl Tickets! My husband and I are huge Saints fans and know this is the year of a Black & Gold Superbowl - we are ecstatic! WHO DAT!!! Thanks to the Special Olym-pics Louisiana and the NFL Payers Association for mak-ing this possible.”

Nora wins a 4-day/3 night stay at a Miami Gardens Hotel, roundtrip airfare for 2, breakfast daily and 2 Tickets to Super Bowl XLIV!

Each year over 100 competitions and numer-ous fundraisers are held

to benefit participants and their families. Fundraisers such as this allow people with intellectual disabilities the opportunities to thrive through sports and change the attitudes of those in local communities and throughout the state.

Nora Brechtel of gretna, LA Wins 2010 NfL Experience raffle!

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Gov. Bobby Jindal has put to rest months of water cooler speculation about his interest in this fall’s U.S. Senate race. The governor says definitively that he will not run for the Senate.

The governor told The Times-Picayune that the answer is “absolutely no. No caveats, no loopholes.” Jindal says his only political plans are to seek re-election in 2011.

Although Jindal had never indicated an interest in the Senate seat, that had not stopped months of rumor-mongering among political types eager to see incumbent Republican David Vitter have to fight off a high-profile chal-

lenge in the primary.Democrat U.S. Rep. Char-

lie Melancon also is running for the seat. The party primary election is Aug. 28, and the general election is Nov. 2.

Jindal denies rumors of run for u.S. Senate

Gov. Bobby Jinda

Nora Brechtel

“It’s no easy thing to ask a stranger to

buy something. You have to speak up, look

them in the eye and believe in what you’re

doing. And even more importantly, believe

in yourself,” See Girls scouts, on page 3

• The Weekly Press • Thursday, January 7, 2010

READER INFORMATION

How to Reach UsGeneral Information . . .225-775-2002

Fax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225-775-4216

Email Address

. . . . . . theweeklypress@yahoo .com

. . . . . . . . . . thewpres@bellsouth .net

The office is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday and located at 1283 Rosenwald Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Correction PolicyThe Baton Rouge Weekly Press strives to be fair and accurate. The newspaper corrects any significant errors of fact brought to the attention of the editor. If you think an error has been made, call 225-775-2002

The Weekly Press

Newspaper is a published weekly in Baton Rouge and distributed every Thursday with a circulation of 7,500. Subscription rates are $38.00 per year for Louisiana residents; $42.00 for one year for out-of-state residents; half price for six months subscription: and $1.00 per single copy.

All money orders or checks should be made payable to The Weekly Press, P.O. Box 74485, Baton Rouge, La. 70874

1283 Rosenwald RoadBaton Rouge, La. 70807-41

Phone: (225) 775-2002 Fax: (225) 775-4216

E-Mail [email protected]@bellsouth.net

Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Closed Saturday, Sunday and all Major Holidays

LocaL&State

2622 NORTH STREET BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA. 70802-3161

Web page: WTAAENGINEERS.COM Email: [email protected]

225-383-0822 office Toll free 1-866-324-9822 225-346-4023 fax 1-866-821-9822 Toll free fax

ALEXANDRIA, BATON ROUGE, MONROE, NEW ORLEANS & SHREVEPORT

Streets, Box culverts, Light rails, Structures, Airports, Sewer & Water, Drainage, Management, Evaluations, Planning and Surveys

DBE AND HUBZONE CERTIFIED

INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING & PLANNING CONSULTANTS

CONSTRUCTION SUPPORT SERVICES INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY CONSULTING

“Civil EnginEErs wantEd”

Finally a book which tells why

african americans have

problems with obesity

in america- and how

to conquer it! This

book gives dietary

treatments for

Diabetes, attention

Deficit Hyperactivity

Disorder, Childhood

and adult Obesity. if

you are Sick and Tired

of being Sick and Tired,

this book is a MUST

REaD!1999ONLY!

3905 CONVENTION STREET • BATON ROUGE, LA 70806 PHONE (225) 387-7858 FAX (225) 381-6980

RENA HESTERAttorney At LAw • PersonAL Injury & bAnkruPtcy

225-774-2637Located in Scotlandville8152 Scenic Hwy. Baton Rouge, La. 70807

40 Million DriversTrUsT sTATe FArM

Personal service and competitive rates are why more people trust state Farm® for car insurance than the next three companies combined. Contact me today.

LIKE A GOOG NEIGHBOR STATE FARM IS THERETM

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (not in NJ) • Bloomington, IL • statefarm.com®

Jeremy Jackson State Farm Insurance Co. 6224 Winbourne Ave. • Baton Rouge, La 70805

225-355-7765 Office • 225-356-2393 Fax

NEW ORLEANS, LA – According to United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings, which were released last month, Louisiana moved up from 50th to 47th, mark-ing the state’s highest ranking since the annual study began. What played a key part in this upward trend for our state? A decrease in the rate of smoking that moved Louisiana up six spots to 35th in the country.

This is the type of im-provement that The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living (TFL) has been work-ing towards since it launched in 2003.

“Louisiana has tradition-ally performed poorly in these types of health rankings and the smoking rate has been one of the key reasons for that. For the better part of this decade, we’ve done our part to help bring about a reduction in that rate, and we’ve been able to develop a large and passion-ate grassroots movement that has helped us make a differ-ence,” says Rosalind Stewart, TFL director. “At a time when the World Health Organization puts the annual global death toll from tobacco use at close to five million, it’s critical that organi-zations such as TFL continue to spread the message that tobacco use remains one of our greatest health threats. We’ve achieved quite a bit in Louisiana, but we must do even more during the next 10 years.”

The Louisiana Campaign

for Tobacco-Free Living is a statewide tobacco prevention and control program that re-ceives funding from the state excise tax on tobacco passed in 2002. TFL’s mission is to implement and evaluate com-prehensive tobacco prevention and control initiatives that pre-vent and reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. Through the years, TFL has developed and carried out a number of effective informa-tion and outreach campaigns, all of which have been consis-tent with the best practices in tobacco prevention and control recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-vention and with most tobacco control programs around the

country.One of the most significant

and positive changes to occur in Louisiana since the creation of TFL was the state legislature’s passage of Act 815, The Louisi-ana Smoke-Free Air Act, in 2006. The Act took effect in January of 2007 and made all restaurants and most workplaces in Loui-siana smoke-free. With a com-pliance rate at 95 percent, The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act made a positive impact on air quality in restaurants through-out the state. Not only did it improve the quality of air for workers and customers, but it had a positive economic impact on businesses as well. Despite

The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living Continues to “Clear the Air”

As decade winds down, program celebrates successes, eyes challenges of next 10 years

Mayor-President Kip Holden and Pam Malveaux, la Campaign for a Tobacco-Free living

The Wall Street conference agenda at www.wallstreetproj-ect.org is heavy with represen-tatives from the Obama admin-istration, including people from the departments of Commerce, Treasury , Small Business Ad-ministration, Agriculture and FDIC (Federal Department Insurance Corporation).

Members of Congress, as well as other civil rights leaders, including the National Urban League’s Marc Morial and NNPA’s Danny Bakewell will also be in attendance to discuss issues of economic reciprocity, Jackson said. “This will be our Black business community dis-cussing where did the stimulus money go and who got it?”

A point of action, he says, will be the insistence that the Department of Justice enforce civil rights laws such as Title 6, created for the purpose of fair contracting and racial in-clusion.

Banks got billions “with-out honoring fair housing laws, fair lending laws and the community re-investment act. They got stimulus money and did not have to honor EEOC,” Jackson said. “The result is that money came down by the bil-lions in virtually exclusionary patterns.”

Of course, employment discrimination and joblessness among Blacks are not new on the civil rights agenda. It’s just that with the disastrous econ-omy and a newly elected Black president, Black leaders thought there would be a greater level of sensitivity and specificity from the White House to deal with the problem in the Black community.

But, when President Obama said last spring that a “rising tide lifts all boats”, dissatisfaction grew swiftly and appears to be reaching a tipping point as 2010 begins – even by some who have been slow to criticize the Obama Administration.

“The economic condition of Black people is of grave con-

cern,” says the Rev. Al Sharp-ton. “There are those that are saying that we’ve been seeing about Main Street. I’m saying Blacks are not even on Main Street. We’re in our own part of town. And if Main Street hasn’t gotten any bailout, then we haven’t even gotten the rumor.”

Sharpton says he will con-tinue to work with the White House on educational inequi-ties in order to close the racial achievement gaps that lead to economic inequality.

“Clearly, any number of studies show that people that are less educated are the higher unemployed. So, we face the race gap and the educational gap that is also brought on by the race gap,” Sharpton says.

Regardless of the strategy, it will have to include a specific focus on African-Americans, Sharpton agrees.

“We must specifically ad-dress the inequality based on race – even in the lower and middle class,” he said. “You’ve got to remember that the fact of the matter is that if you raised everything as is, it would still be double Black unemployment and we would still have double the problems even though we would be better than we were, we would still be unequal. We’re looking for equality. We’re not looking for a better form of oppression.”

Half the battle will be keeping the crucial issues of health care and Black economic equality in the public’s eye says Dr. Dorothy Height, president emeritus of the National Coun-cil of Negro Women.

“We have to keep our issues out in a forum,” says Height. She adds that activ-ists must also remember that Obama was inaugurated in the midst of the economic crisis.

“We have to look at the complexity in the world that he inherited and where he is,” she says. “The president didn’t make the unemployment, but he’s doing his best to fix it.”

Bully PulPit from page 1

BATON ROUGE, LA - USDA Rural Development is taking loan guarantee and grant applications for the Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, for projects to be awarded in 2010.

USDA Rural Develop-ment’s Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) offers grants, guaranteed loans, and combination grant/guaranteed loans to help agricultural pro-ducers and rural small busi-nesses purchase and install renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements.

In 2009, producers and businesses in Louisiana re-ceived $308,273 in REAP grants for renewable energy systems,

energy efficiency improve-ments, feasibility studies, and energy audits.

Businesses and produc-ers in rural Louisiana looking to create renewable energy or make energy-saving improve-ments may be able to finance up to 75 percent of eligible project costs through the pro-gram. Stand-alone grants can be awarded up to 25 percent of total eligible costs.

To qualify for financial as-sistance through REAP, proj-ect costs must be greater than $6,000 for energy efficiency projects and $10,000 for renew-able energy projects.

Details are available online

The USDA Rural Development is Taking Loan Applications for 2010

See USDA, on page 3

See CleAr The Air, on page 3

Thursday, January 7, 2010 • The Weekly Press •

Call the McManus law office and get all you deserve

INJURED IN A CAR WRECK?

Charles C. McManusA T T O R N E Y A T L A W

8520 Scotland Ave, Suite C • Baton Rouge, La. 225-774-5771 charlesmcmanus@

mcmanuslawoffice.brcoxmail.comwww.charlesmcmanus.com

If this happens to

you call Attorney

McManus

Over 20 Years Of IncOme Tax experIence

Let Us Tell You About The Following:

• New Earn Income Tax Credit Changes• New Elementary & Secondary School Deduction• Now First Time Buyers Credit • New Child Care Expense Credit • IRs Representation/ Late Filing/ IRs Indebtness

Open Year Round Not Just Tax Season

ACCURATE TAX sERVICEs

4904 Winbourne Ave. Baton Rouge, LA 70806 Telephone: 225-356-2111

Noland Turner, EA

On sale: Phone Cards and Postage Stamps

New Look N e i g h b o r h o o d G r o c e r y

HOME OF THE PARK TOWN BURGER

Hot Breakfast $3.09 Daily Home Made Lunch $4.99Mobile Kitchen available for your Catering needs serving for 1 to 1000

Store Hours: Monday through Thursday 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. • Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

1376 North 39th Street Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802

(225) 388-0055

Red Beans & Rice with Two Chicken Wings for $4.49 Includes a Soda.

DENHAM SPRINGS - Their contract doesn’t run out for another two years, but Allied Waste is propos-ing a new garbage collection system for the city of Denham Springs. One councilwoman now questions whether or not the city wants to stick with Al-lied Waste.

For eight years, Allied Waste trucks have rolled in and out of neighborhoods around Denham Springs. But the way the garbage is picked up could be changing. The company wants to switch from sending a person to pick up the trash to an automated system, which most of the Metro area already uses. Two of the people we spoke with say they are against this automated system, and they

work for Allied Waste.“I have yet to hear one per-

son say ‘I’m for automated and I don’t mind paying an extra dollar fifty a month,’” says Councilwoman Lori Lamm-Williams. “Nobody’s saying that, so the cost is an issue.”

3,500 households in Den-ham Springs are serviced by Al-lied Waste. Under the proposed new system, collection would still be twice a week. The $1.50 would cover a 96-gallon trash container and a 65-gallon recy-cling container. Karla Swacker, with Allied Waste, says they’ve seen an improvement in recy-cling in other areas where this automated pick up has been introduced. For example, in Baton Rouge Swacker says 40% are now recycling. Under the

current system, only 20-25% are recycling.

What the councilwoman doesn’t like is that it means entering into another contract with their current collection company. She says if the city were to bid out the garbage col-lection, they could potentially save money. She says right now, customers pay $17.44 a month.

Denham Springs’ City At-torney says for that to happen, Allied’s contract would need to expire, before others can be sought out.

For now, Williams says she’s looking for input, as to what the people of Denham want. The council will take up the issue next Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m.

at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/la/REAPinfo.htm or by contacting the Renewable En-ergy Coordinator Kevin Boone at (337) 262-6601 extension 133.

USDA Rural Development

provides a full range of rural development credit services in rural Louisiana. Area Offices are located in Monroe, Natchi-toches, Lafayette, and Amite; and the State Office is located in

Alexandria. For more informa-tion on USDA Rural Develop-ment’s loan and grant programs, visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/la.

USDA from page 2

and marketing skills and become more confident connecting to others is essential for a girl’s success.”

Girl Scouts across the coun-cil’s 23 parishes will begin tak-ing cookie orders on January 15. Cookies will be delivered beginning February 26 and sold at various booth locations until March 14.

This year’s Cookie program theme is Inspired by U, with activities designed for girls to discover what matters most to them, connect with people in their community, and use the power of Girl Scout Cookies to take action and make the world a better place. A popular commu-nity service project held during the Cookie Sale is Gift of Car-ing, a voluntary troop project in which girls encourage customers to buy cookies for donation to a non-profit organization selected by the troop.

In addition to Girl Scout troops supporting local non-profits and service organizations like fire and police departments, last year southeast Louisiana Girl Scouts shipped over 14,000 boxes of cookies to military troops serv-ing overseas in the council’s Troops Helping Troops service project with plans to hold the project again this year.

This cookie season the Girl Scouts are offering one new cookie: Thank U Berry Munch, which features cranber-ries mixed with the sweetness of creamy white fudge chips. Other varieties include Thin Mints, Sa-moas, Trefoils, Tagalongs, Do-Si-Dos, Lemon Chalet Cremes, and Dulce de Leche cookies. Cookies are $3.50 per box upon deliv-ery, and are preservative-free, kosher, with zero trans fat per serving. Through participation in the Girl Scout Cookie program girls develop five essential skills

including goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business eth-ics.

The local council, Girl Scouts Louisiana East, serves girls 5 to 17 in the parishes of Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terre-bonne, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana.

To order cookies begin-ning January 15, call the Cookie Hotline at either Council office; in New Orleans at (504) 733-8220, Baton Rouge at (225) 927-8946, or visit the council website at www.gsle.org. An online Cookie Locator to find booth locations will be available on the website during the direct sale beginning February 26.

Girl ScoUtS from page 1

BATON ROUGE, LA - The $5 billion included in the economic recovery bill for weatherization is hitting the streets and in 2010 that means more green jobs, lower heating and cooling bills for low-income families and more energy-efficient homes.

Since 1976, the federal Weatherization Assistance Pro-gram has delivered services to more than 6.2 million low-income families, and the stimulus bill funding is meant to take the pro-gram to a new level. As they have for three decades, Community Action Agencies, which admin-ister 80 percent of the program funding, will be in the thick of things.

And they are wasting no time tackling the challenge fac-ing them in the new year.

On Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., at the LACAP, Inc, Weatherization Training Center which located at 11637 Industriplex Boulevard more than 100 leaders from Com-munity Action groups across America will visit the Louisiana Association of Community Ac-tion Partnerships new state-of-the-art weatherization training center. They will see the latest in weatherization technology and techniques -- and then take that knowledge home with them to start meeting President Obama’s goal of weatherizing a million more houses.

For more information, contact Todd L. Sterling, 225-229-1906.

Weatherization Programs Means More Green JobsA Model for America and Green Jobs Recovery

BATON ROUGE – Guo-qiang Li, National Science Foundation Joint Faculty Ap-pointment Program Associ-ate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at both LSU and Southern University, recently received the National Faculty Researcher Role Model Award, sponsored by Minority Access Inc. He is one of 17 recipients in the nation honored with this prestigious award during the National Role Models Con-ference held in Washington, D.C.

Li was nominated by Su-Seng Pang, LSU associate vice chancellor for strategic initiatives, Jack Holmes Distin-guished Professor of Mechani-

cal Engineering and LS-LAMP co-coordinator at LSU. Pang was awarded the National Fac-ulty Administrator Role Model Award by Minority Access Inc. in 2008.

Li is a recognized expert in the composite materials and composite structures research field. He has published more than 100 refereed journal pa-pers, four book chapters and presented at more than 70 conferences. As a researcher, he has brought in more than 40 research and educational grants from funding agencies such as the National Science Founda-tion, NASA, the Department of Energy and the USDA for a total of more than $10 million.

In addition to his many scientific accolades, Li is also the recipient of 18 national and regional awards for his research, work as a mentor and profes-sional services, including the 2009 Society of Plastic Engineers Composites Division Educator of the Year Award, the Ameri-can Association of Mechanical Engineers Petroleum Division Frank Walk Service Award, the Southern University Excellence in Research Mentoring Award and the LSU-LAMP Outstand-ing Mentor Award.

For more information, please contact Mimi LaValle at the LSU College of Engineering at 225-578-5706 or by e-mailing to [email protected].

LSU Professor Receives National Role Model Award

NEW ORLEANS - A po-lice chief in southeast Louisiana accused of arranging for un-qualified voters to cast ballots in a February 2008 election has been charged with a civil rights violation.

A charge filed Monday against Independence Police Chief Anthony Maurer claims he played an unspecified role in allowing people who didn’t live in Independence to vote in the town on Feb. 9, 2008.

Elections records show Maurer was on the ballot that day and beat his opponent, Leonard “Tank” Genco, by 122 votes. Independence vot-ers also were casting ballots for the presidential primaries and other state and local races.

Maurer is charged with one count of depriving qualified voters of their constitutional rights. U.S. Attorney Jim Letten wouldn’t elaborate.

Maurer didn’t immediately return a message left at the po-lice station.

LA Police Chief Faces Civil Rights Charge

Council Faces Garbage Collection Dilemma

these positive steps, however, TFL leaders are quick to point out that there is much more work to be done, particularly when it comes to reducing the exposure of Louisiana work-ers to deadly secondhand smoke.

“Considering all that TFL has accomplished in the rela-tively short time it has existed, and the latest improvement in America’s Health Rankings, it’s clear that the Legislature made a great decision when they chose to invest in tobacco prevention and control. How-ever, while we can be proud of what we’ve achieved, there’s still a long, hard road ahead,” said Carrie Griffin Broussard, TFL Policy & Advocacy Man-ager. “While the Smoke-Free Air Act cleared the air in res-taurants and most workplaces, thousands of employees and patrons in bars and casinos in

Louisiana continue to be ex-posed to harmful secondhand smoke every day. Our focus going forward is ensuring that workers in all workplaces are protected from secondhand smoke, because bartenders and bar workers, musicians and casinos workers should not have to risk their health for a paycheck.”

TFL leaders point out that one of the challenges they will face in the next de-cade is ensuring that Loui-siana continues to invest in tobacco prevention and control efforts so that we can continue to see improvements in the health of our citizens. A report issued earlier this month by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung As-sociation and the Robert Wood

Johnson Foundation ranked Louisiana 27th in the nation in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. According to the report, Louisiana currently spends $8.9 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessa-tion programs, which is about 16 percent of the $53.5 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The tobacco industry, on the other hand, spends nearly $241 mil-lion in Louisiana each year to market its deadly products.

To find out more about it the mission, vision and programs of TFL, visit www.tobaccofreeliving.org. To share your thoughts on secondhand smoke and to learn more about advocating for stronger smoke-free poli-cies in Louisiana, visit www.LetsBeTotallyClear.org.

cleAr the Air from page 2

Email Your News Articles to [email protected]

Proven Service & Dependability25 Years Serving Baton Rouge & Surrounding Communities

Full Service Agency • Licensed Agents Professional Courteous Staff

Auto • Life • Homeowners & Renters • Flood IRA/Retirement, Investment Counseling

Convenient HouRS: MoNDAY-FRIDAY: 8am-6pm • SAtuRdAy: 9am-12 noon

By Rev. Al ShARptonNNPA Columnist

(NNPA) - Every year, we all rally to-gether with family and friends to celebrate the holidays and ring in the dawning of yet another new year, a new start and a new beginning. We diligently make resolutions – some minor, and others life altering – that we emphatically boast to each other and to ourselves. The harsh reality is that most of us either overreach in our goals, or simply don’t put forth the dedi-cation, discipline and fortitude necessary to bring our resolu-tions to fruition.

As we kick off a new de-cade, I challenge all of us to judi-ciously strive for the betterment of ourselves, our communities and for all of humanity. In line with establishing realistic, yet meaningful goals, I myself have set aside three major tasks that I must accomplish in this new beginning.

For starters, I have to look no further than the organiza-tion that I’ve invested my heart and soul into – National Action Network. Continuously on the forefront of issues affecting the community, from police brutality to economic and political disen-franchisement to racial profiling, NAN is easily recognized as a voice for the voiceless. With 45 chapters in cities and towns around the country, NAN has become a staple for those seek-ing justice and equality. And al-though 45 chapters with limited resources is a rewarding sense of purpose, I have only begun.

This year, we will take those 45 chapters and turn them into 100 chapters. As the work of social justice and civil rights con-tinues to grow, we must grow with it. As the people continue to need our help, we must be more accessible to them. And wherever injustice occurs, we must be able to stand firmly in unison and take action. In order to achieve more, we must be in more locations. 100 chapters in 100 cities in 2010.

This brings me to my sec-ond point: In order to effectively empower people, we must first and foremost educate them. Education itself can take root in a multitude of arenas from the classroom, to the simple altering of people’s mindsets. This year, I will continue the fight to perfect our education reform initiative for children in impoverished communities everywhere so that they too may have a fighting chance to make it in this world. An educated youth are an engaged, power-

ful body that can use their strength for more constructive measures instead of blindly kill-ing one another. In line with my push for education reform, I will work to end the nonsensical violence that is permeating our streets throughout the nation. The value of human life must be re-

stored, and we all must tackle the underlying issues that cre-ate such anger and frustration among our children. Young people need to be armed with textbooks and pens, not guns and knives.

And last, but by no means least, is the simple fact that it is time to deal with the over-whelming economic crisis we are in. Statistically, the national unemployment average wavers around 10 percent but we all know that in communities of color, that percentage is double – sometimes triple that - we can just look at Detroit. We need to come to terms with the blatant fact that people in our neighbor-hoods are suffering, businesses are suffering and the entire fam-ily structure is suffering. Severe unemployment and economic hardship almost always lead to increased crime, violence, de-pression and an overall sense of hopelessness. While politi-cians continue to battle over the best way forward, the people are hurting. When parents work three jobs in order to put dinner on the table, or when a mother must give up her meal in order for her children to eat, we have a serious problem. When shelters are forced to turn away folks due to overcrowding, and tent cities pop up everywhere because families have lost their homes, we are in a tremendous crisis. It’s time to create realistic, sustaining economic develop-ment, and time to support our businesses, our radio stations and our newspapers. It’s time to save ourselves before it’s too late.

As 2010 begins amidst growing concerns on a host of issues, I ask all of us to take a deep look at what we do with our lives, what our purpose is and what we are doing to better tomorrow. The time is now. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye toward our obstacles, for the stakes couldn’t be higher. As I work to improve education, curb violence, create economic empowerment mechanisms and expand my organization, I ask you to think hard and think long before you choose your new year’s resolutions; for your decision could save someone’s future – and your own.

By GeoRGe e. CuRRyNNPA Columnist

Now that we have ushered in not only a new year, but a new decade, I want to share my New Decade’s wish list. I hope:

PRESIDENT OBAMA stops gutting his domestic programs in an effort to appease Repub-licans who have no intention of supporting him on anything. GOP leaders are lower than a snake’s belly and it is useless to try to satisfy them or their No.1 ally, Joe-the-Traitor Lieber-man. President Obama correctly states that he is the president of all of the people. And that includes African Americans. We’re not asking him to be a Black president, just a presi-dent who realizes the needs of Blacks should be targeted just as he targeted the needs of Wall Street, banks and the automotive industry.

DEMOCRATS exercise the power they have accu-mulated. With a 60-40 edge in the United States Senate, counting two independents who regularly caucus with Democrats, a 257-178 margin in the House of Representatives, and a Democrat in the White House, it’s time for Democrats to stop acting like wimps. After pleading for power, including elevating a record number of African Americans to commit-tee chairs and subcommittee

chairs, Democrats finally have power. They need to act like it.

THE CONGRES-SIONAL BLACK CAUCUS follows through on its threat to oppose major bills that do not improve the plight of the masses. After threat-ening to vote against the health care bill if it did not include the public option, members of the CBC are poised to support a bill likely to emerge from confer-ence without that key provi-sion. If President Obama can placate a couple of conserva-tives in order to save the bill, he should feel heat from progres-sives unwilling to roll over in order to pass a watered down version of the bill. Sadly, more is done to capitulate to one or two conservatives than to dozens of African Americans serving in Congress.

REPUBLICANS revert to the big tent philosophy that characterized the party before it became captive of Right-wing zealots. At its best, the GOP em-braced liberal New York City Mayor John Lindsay, progres-sive Senators Lowell Weicker of Connecticut and Edward Brooke of Massachusetts along with conservative GOP lawmakers. It also embraced former Assistant Secretary of Labor Art Fletcher and Trans-

portation Secretary Bill Coleman, two ardent supporters of affirma-tive action. It now ap-pears that in order for any African American to be accepted by the GOP leadership, he or she must be a vocal critic of affirmative ac-tion. Contrary to GOP assertions, Blacks are

not in love with the Democratic Party. Rather, Republicans who routinely oppose programs that benefit people of color offer no viable alternative.

CIVIL RIGHTS LEAD-ERS return to being outsiders instead of insiders. Many of our leaders have become shills for the Obama administration. In-stead of presenting the usual “Black Agenda,” their top agenda item these days seem to be getting an invitation to some White House event. And when they don’t get invited, they profess to be personally offended. Jesse Jackson, for ex-ample, recently whined about not getting invited to a White House conference on jobs. In the eyes of many Blacks, Jack-son rendered himself irrelevant when he threatened to cut off certain body parts of the presi-dent to be. For Blacks already suffering from Jesse Fatigue, that was the last straw. And no one should blame Obama for not wanting Jesse Jackson around to rain on his parade or,

even worse, neuter him.HEADS OF BLACK PRO-

FESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS finally assume the leadership role in their area of expertise. We expect too much from our civil rights organizations and too little from our professional organizations. The National Bar Association should lead the way on criminal justice matters. The National Medical Association should present our collective position on health care and ra-cial disparities. The National Association of Black Journal-ists should lead the charge against racism in the media. The Urban Financial Services Coalition should provide the last word in our community on financial literary. Of course, this would necessarily lead to the emergence of some fresh, new voices. And that would be a good thing for our com-munity.

THE JOSHUA GENERA-TION – the young leaders-in-waiting – should find another name. I can understand their wanting to put some distance between them and the various icons who pose as the Moses of the Civil Rights Movement, but Joshua died at the age of 110. Therefore, Joshua is not synony-mous with youth. Young people and not-so-young people such as Al Sharpton should stop com-plaining that the Jesse Jacksons

CommentaryThursday, January 7, 2010 • The Weekly Press •

By FARRAh GRAyNNPA Columnist

(NNPA) - The Honorable

Percy Sutton certainly embod-ied the principle Kujichagulia (Self-Determination). His pio-neering work in the broadcast industry as founder of Inner City Broadcast Corporation (ICBC), paved the way for many of us to have a “voice” in media. ICBC now stands as the largest black owned media enterprise in the world. Percy taught me that you never come up short of what you give.

As keynote speaker for a U.S. Department of Com-merce benefit, I recall first meeting Inner City chairman emeritus Percy Sutton. Later, I became the magazine’s fea-tured young entrepreneur story. Developing a working relationship with Percy Sut-ton, I went onto buy 80 per-cent ownership of Inner City Magazine in February 2001. Based on my observations, Percy is truly the “God-Father of Black Business.” Growing up as the son of a Black slave,

Percy Sutton defied all odds, dedicating his life to creating equal opportunity. He made possible shows like Ameri-can Idol by found-ing The Showtime Apollo Theater.

Countless times, Percy Sutton risked his life serving our country including as a Tuskegee Airmen in World War II and later as enlisted of-ficer in Korean conflicts. As an officer for the prestigious Tuskegee Airmen of 1940s, Percy Sutton was among the first black pilots in United States history. Despite growing up in a country that held his fa-ther in slavery, Percy selflessly put his life on the line surviv-ing traumatic challenges as a black man serving in the 32nd Fighter Group, better known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

Percy Sutton distinguished himself as a leader among one of the most elite military units in history. He fearlessly helped the special squadron complete

over 15,000 sorties that boasted the high-est success rates. The unit claimed over 109 German Nazi aircraft, winning two Distin-guished Citations, 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 8 Hearts Pur-ple, 14 Bronze Stars, among other achieve-ments. Beginning as an ordinary young

man, Percy Sutton displayed the determination necessary to overcome any obstacle, defy-ing all the odds.

Returning home in 1953, Percy took a low wage job working at the post office at-tending Brooklyn Law School also saving enough money to open a civil rights law firm on 125th Street, Harlem, New York. In our countries most trying moments, it was the Honorable Percy Sutton that stepped forward to serve as civil rights attorney for Mal-colm X’s widow, Betty Sha-bazz, upon her husband’s con-troversial assassination. For decades, Percy led the charge

to gain justice and equal rights supporting the hundreds of slain activities families.

Known for his genuine in-tegrity, Honorable Percy Sut-ton served in the New York State Assembly before taking over as Manhattan borough president in 1966, becoming the highest-ranking black elected official in New York. Having fought in countless battles, it was Percy Sutton that first voiced a dissenting protest at the 1968 Democratic Convention against the Viet-nam War, the policy of Rich-ard Nixon. Later, Percy served as the political mentor for the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s two presi-dential bids.

Still focused on the strug-gle to provide opportunities to ordinary people, Percy ran for mayor of New York City in 1977 losing to Edward Koch. He remained undaunted in his mission to serve others in need. Percy went on to entre-preneurial achievements build-ing a voice for thousands of

Percy Sutton: My God Father

The views expressed in the editiorial columns are not necessarily the veiws of The Weekly Press or its staff. Address all opinions and comments to: Letters to the Editior, P.O. Box 74485 Baton Rouge, La. 70874 or E-mail them to: [email protected]

By WilliAm JoneS

It seems like yes-terday when we were celebrating the incom-ing year 2009. My how the time past by so fast.

That brings to mind the mode of life that we are living. We find ourselves in such a hurry that we pass by the flowers and by not no-ticing them we do not stop to smell them.

We are in such an earthly mode we overlook the simple things in life.

People are speeding on the highways killing themselves, but also taking the lives of others we are so wrapped in ourselves. We neglect ourselves and totally dis-regard the respect for others. It seem that we are so bent on “Get-ting over on the other person.”

We are saturated with Greed.

We are so carried away with getting above the other person we for-get quickly about the manner in which the famous holiday that we have just observed. The birth of Jesus. We have carried ourselves so for away from what life was purposed to be we forget about the simple things that we

need to celebrate and enjoy. Let there be no doubt, God

planned the manner in which Jesus was born. He planned how long He would let Him live. He planned to let His only Son give-up His life to die for our sins.

I said all of that to say this. For your New Year’s resolution: the best, utmost, and precious one you can make is to bring the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into your life. May God bless you with a very Happy New Year.

That Is The Way I See It.

GeorgeE. Curry

Rev. AlSharpton

FarrahGray

See sutton, on page 7

May You Have a Joyous New Year

WilliamJones

The Way I See IT

In the New Year, Let Us Grow With the Work

See 2010 and beyond, on page 7

Wish List for 2010 and Beyond


business

PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANTS

NEEDED!!Fast growing PCA

company, needs experienced personal

Care attendants. Must be a

high school graduate. Background

check required.

CNA is a plus, but not

Required, with experience.

(225) 775-9023

Are you buying or selling a service? Are you looking for employment? The classifieds is a good way to find what you need or to advertise your

goods and services. Call The Weekly Press 225-775-2002 for details

PhysicianFirst Care Physicians

The Baton Rouge Gen-eral, a multi-campus, acute-care, has an opening for a Board-Certified or Board-Eligible Infectious Disease Physician to join First Care Physicians at our Mid City campus in Baton Rouge, LA. Must hold a current LA Medi-cal License or have the ability to obtain one.

Interested candidates should apply online at HY-PERLINK “http://www.brgeneral.org” www.brgen-eral.org or in person at our Mid City campus located at 3600 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA

(Help Wanted) DRIVERSDrivers: Home Everyday! Local Routes! Excellent Wages & Ben-efits! CDL Class A, 1yr exp with HazMat & TWIC required. Apply: Airgas, 35114 Hwy 30, Geismar ,

LA. EOE.

EMPLOyMENT/DRIVERS

DRIVERS-TANkER: GREAT PAy & BENEFITS,

INCLuDING FREE HEALTH INS!1yR CDL-A, WX & TANkER

END. REq.225-355-1324

“We Also Sell Men & Women Shoes”

S H O E S H O P

932 Progress Street • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802

(225) 343-6896

Leroy Turner

1.00 OFF

Lindsey’sD I N E R

ANy MEAl $5.99 oR MoRE.ExcluDINg chIttERlINgs AND ox tAIl DINNERs

ExpIREs DECEMBER 30th, 2009

2502 N. Acadian Thruway East •Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70805Phone: (225) 355-5050 •Fax: (225) 355-1571

Hours of Operation: 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday

Acadian True Value Hardware Store1733 N. Acadian Thruway W.

Phone: (225) 343-7862

7350 Scenic HighwayPhone (225) 3555-8270

16 oz Bottle

589Liquid Fire Drain Opener

*Bird Food sold only atN. Acadian Thruway W. location

5700 Florida Blvd., Suite 312Baton Rouge, La. 70806Office: (225) 341-3551Fax: (225) 923-8227Cell: (225) 806-6030

The Reese Team

• Commercial Investment• 100% Purchase on Rural Property• Refinance, Construction Loan• Fast Approval & Funding• VA, FHA, My Community Programs• Rates as Low as 5.25• Take Advantage of $8,000.00 Tax Credit

We Can have You In YouR home

DaRlene h. Reese Professional Mortgage Lender

BATON ROUGE, LA - The Sprite Step-Off will be held, Jan. 16, in the F.G. Clark Activity Center. Get tickets now at HYPER-LINK “http://www.spritestepoff.com/tick-ets” SPRITESTEPOFF.COM/TICKETS.

Championed by Sprite, the leading lemon-lime sparkling beverage brand among multicultural youth, Sprite Step Off is a national competition that celebrates the creativity and originality of the multicul-

tural college experience through stepping, scholarship and service. It is the largest step competition for Greek letter organizations in the U.S., with the largest prize pool ever.

See step groups from HYPERLINK “http://www.blackgreeknetwork.com/alpha-kappa-alpha/” \o “View all posts in Alpha Kappa Alpha” Alpha Kappa Alpha, HYPERLINK “http://www.blackgreeknet-work.com/alpha-phi-alpha/” \o “View all posts in Alpha Phi Alpha” Alpha Phi Alpha, HYPERLINK “http://www.black-greeknetwork.com/articles/” \o “View all posts in Articles” Articles, HYPER-LINK “http://www.blackgreeknetwork.com/delta-sigma-theta/” \o “View all posts in Delta Sigma Theta” Delta Sigma Theta, HYPERLINK “http://www.black-greeknetwork.com/iota-phi-theta/” \o “View all posts in Iota Phi Theta” Iota Phi Theta, HYPERLINK “http://www.black-greeknetwork.com/kappa-alpha-psi/” \o “View all posts in Kappa Alpha Psi” Kappa Alpha Psi, HYPERLINK “http://

www.blackgreeknetwork.com/omega-psi-phi/” \o “View all posts in Omega Psi Phi” Omega Psi Phi, HYPERLINK “http://www.blackgreeknetwork.com/phi-beta-sigma/” \o “View all posts in Phi Beta Sigma” Phi Beta Sigma, HYPERLINK “http://www.blackgreeknetwork.com/sigma-gamma-rho/” \o “View all posts in Sigma Gamma Rho” Sigma Gamma Rho, and HYPERLINK “http://www.blackgreeknetwork.com/zeta-phi-beta/” \o “View all posts in Zeta Phi Beta” Zeta Phi Beta

Sprite Step Off will make it possible for a broader audience to experience an iconic form of self-expression that has been shared by multicultural college students for decades and encourage young people nationwide to get involved in community service to improve their communities. For more information on Sprite Step Off, visit HYPERLINK “http://www.spritestepoff.com/home” http://www.spritestepoff.com/home.

Sprite Step-Off Planned for Southern University

Sprite is sponsoring the largest national step competition in history; Southern University is part of the action

Louisiana remains the third most expensive homeowners insurance market in the nation behind Florida and Texas, ac-cording to newly released data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

The average premium in Louisiana for a standard hom-eowners policy in 2007, the most recent year for which data are available, was $1,400, up from $1,257 in 2006. That 11.4 percent jump was the largest increase in homeowners insurance in the nation.

According to the Times-Pic-ayune, Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said he wasn’t sur-prised by the data because 2007 was when the brunt of the rate increases after Hurricanes Ka-trina and Rita kicked in. After the storms, many insurers also increased the insured value of homes on people’s policies.

Donelon believes the 2008 figures will improve because that’s when the insurance de-partment’s signature reform, a program to give insurers multi-million-dollar grants to do busi-ness in Louisiana, began. “I’m hopeful that next year we’ll see a decrease,’’ Donelon said.

As part of that program, several new insurers came to the state and took policies out of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which by law sells the most expensive insur-ance in the state. When these companies began selling poli-cies directly to the public, they did so at rates that were lower than what many existing carriers were charging.

By the Louisiana Depart-ment of Insurance’s calculations, statewide average homeowners rates increased by 3.5 percent in 2007 and 2008, and 4.5 percent in 2009. Donelon said those num-bers mean that no surprises lie ahead. “We have certainly sta-bilized,’’ he said.

While the numbers may not be as shocking going forward,

it will be difficult for Louisiana to drop below No. 3 in the rank-ings because the next group of states have premiums that are more than $300 lower than in Louisiana. The next entity on the list, for example, is the District of Columbia, with an average premium of $1,089, followed by Oklahoma at $1,054. Mississippi and coastal states in the North-east with high real estate values round out the list of the most expensive states.

In reality, policyholders in the New Orleans area pay much more than the figures from the insurance commissioners as-sociation or the state insurance department reflect because of the risk of hurricanes. The figures also do not reflect the cost of flood insurance, which is sold as separate policy.

Florida overtook Texas as the nation’s most expensive homeowners market in 2007, with premiums increasing by 10.7 percent to an average of $1,534. Actual figures are prob-ably higher because the Florida numbers exclude policies from Florida Citizens Property Insur-ance Corp., the state’s largest insurer, which, by law, charges prices at the top of the market. Meanwhile, private homeown-ers policies that don’t include wind coverage are lumped in with those that do, skewing the results downward.

In Texas, the average hom-eowners policy sold for $1,448 in 2007, a 2.8 percent increase from the previous year. The NAIC cau-tions against comparing Texas to any other market because the standard homeowners policy in Texas is slightly different from policies in other states.

Texas, Florida and Louisi-ana are the nation’s most hur-ricane-prone states. But Loui-siana’s position near the top of the list is remarkable because it’s a poor, rural state with few fancy coastal vacation property or large expensive homes.

Louisiana Homeowners Insurance Pricey; Texas, Florida More Expensive


Religion

Sunday Morning Worship - 10:45 AMLord’s Supper -3rd Sundays

Sunday School - 9:30 AMPrayer Service - Wed. @ 6:00 PM

Bible Study - Wed- @ 7:00 PM

Mission Statement: New Hope Baptist Church is a family of baptized believers who worship the Lord our God in spirit and in truth, teach the saved to reach the lost and minister to the needs of others, while encouraging one another through acts of love and living in obedience to Gods Word

New Birth Full Gospel MiNistries

1283 Rosenwald Road • Baton Rouge, La. 70807Phone: (225) 775-6713 •

Fax: (225) 775-4216ivory J. payNe, pastor

order oF serviceSunday Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:00 A.M.Holy Communion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3rd Sunday1:00 P.M.Sunday School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:00 A.M.Bible Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thursday 7:00 P.M.

“THe NeW LiFe”Therefore if any man be in christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold

all thing are become new. —I Corinthians 5:17

NEW HOPE BAPTIST CHURCH5856 Greenwell Springs Road • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806

Telephone: (225) 926-0246 • Facsimile: (225) 927-8500 • Toll Free # 1-888-700-6174

E- Mail Address # [email protected]

Pastor Leo D. Cyrus Sr., Pastor

Sunday Morning Worship - 10:45 AMLord’s Supper -3rd Sundays

Sunday School - 9:30 AMPrayer Service - Wed. @ 6:00 PM

Bible Study - Wed- @ 7:00 PM

CHurCH SCHeduLe

Mission Statement: New Hope Baptist Church is a family of baptized believers who worship the Lord our God in spirit and in truth, teach the saved to reach the lost and minister to the needs of others, while encouraging one another through acts of love and living in obedience to Gods Word

Good Shepherd Full Gospel B.C.The People’s Church

2865 Mission Drive • Baton Rouge, 70805 • Telephone (225)356-5873Bishop H. Hayes, Pastor

Hour of Power 12 NooN eacH wedNesdaySunday School 8:00 AMChurch Service 9:00 AMLord’s Supper 2nd Sunday 6:00 PMBible Study Wednesday 7:00 PMSister/ Brotherhood 6:00 PM

you will Be Blessed uNder THe aNoiNTed MaN of God

St. Mary Baptist Church“The Church that Love Built”

1252 N. Acadian Thruway East • Baton Rouge, LA. 70802

Telephone (225) 387-2926Rev. Conway L Knighton, Pastor

Sunday School 9:30 a.m.Worship Service - 11:00 a.m.

Lord’s Supper - 1st Sunday 11:00 a.m.Prayer Meeting - Wednesday 6:00 p.m.

Bible Study - Wednesday 7:00 p.m.Thursday 10:00 a.m.

Heritage Search Ministry Pentecostal Church4313 Airline Highway (located in the Metro-Aire Shopping Ctr)

Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70807 • Phone: (225) 355-1045Mackie C. Allen, Pastor

Paul Hammock, Apostle and OverseerOrder of Service

Sunday School...................9:00 a.m.Sunday Worship................11:00 a.m.Monday-Prayer...................7:00 p.m.

Wednesday-Praise and Worship.............7:30 p.m.Friday-Bible Study......7:30 p.m.

“Where your inheritance is amongst the Saints”

Greater Central People Baptist Church9012 Scenic Highway • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70807

(225) 241-9946

Sunday School .............................................................. 7:30 a.m.- 9:00 a.m.Church Service ............................................................................... 9:00 a.m.Lord’s Supper ............................................................ 4th Sunday, 9:00 a.m.Prayer Meeting ......................................................... 6:00 p.m. WednesdayBible Study.............................................. 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

Pastor, Bishop John ThomasCo-Pastor Evangelist Barbara Thomas

JESuS NaME aPoSToLiC TEMPLE, iNC.2548 Weller Avenue

Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70805Telephone: (225) 356-1160

Communion 1st Sunday ........................ 1:00 p.m.Sunday School ................. 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.Bible Class Tuesday ...............................7:30 p.m.Mission Night Thursday .........................7:30 p.m.Deliverance Night Friday .......................7:30 p.m.

BiSHOP JiMMiE & ROSE LEE WADE

Shekinah Shalom Covenant Tabernacle Full Gospel Ministry

8141 Greenwell Springs Roads Building C-1Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70814

Ph: (225) 927-2269

Sunday Service 10:00 a.M.Wednesday Midweek 7:00 P.M.

intercessory Saturday 10:00 a.M.

Dr. audrey Briggs, PastorDr. Davy Kendrick, asst.

Church Directory

If you would like your church to be included on the Church Directory. Please Call The Baton Rouge Weekly Press for details at 225-775-2002 or, e-mail us with your billing address to [email protected]

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. - Hebrews 10:25

[email protected] Radio Broadcast 1st & 3rd Sunday WXoK at 8:00 am

By DonalD lee I want to share this with all

the saints in the body of Christ. It seems good to the Holy Spirit and to me that I remind you that the Lord expects for us to keep ourselves and our families cov-ered in prayer. We must always be mindful that there is a devil who goes about to and fro seek-ing whom he might devour (1st Peter 5:8).

So in order for us to foil the enemy’s plans to wreak havoc in our lives and destroy us and our loved ones, we must be mindful that it is of the utmost impor-tance for us to be in church all the time, not just once a week (Sundays).

In other words, if your church has an intercessory prayer service, you ought to be there joining the brethren in interceding for the church, the families who are in covenant with the church, and interced-ing (or standing in the gap) for the lost, that they might come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, hence being “saved” from eternal damnation.

Don’t take lightly the importance of the intercessory prayer service. Sometimes you just never know whether the day you decide to stay home (and not go and pray with the saints) will be the day your prayer (on one accord with your church family) will be the day that your prayer

was needed most and whether those prayers were specifically for a family member of your own. In other words, it can be a matter of life and death in your own family.

If you have to work during the time the church has inter-cessory prayer or Bible study or worship ser-vice, that’s understandable. God gave you the job. At the same time, it’s OK to believe God for a schedule that clears for you to make it to church once to twice a week. By all means, pray on your own time at home, too. But don’t take lightly the importance of praying with the saints.

And I’ll tell you something else. Not only should Christians be in a church, but they should be in a Word-based church where the Word of God is taught with boldness yet simplicity, and with power and without compromise. Such a church should have as Jesus’ undershepherd a pastor who isn’t afraid to correct those who may be in error, but at the same time is a leader with a com-passionate heart and who acts in wisdom.

I just have it in my spirit to write this this week because I often hear children of God say --- as an excuse for why they refuse to attend church with any degree of consistency (or commitment)

--- “Church is in the heart; it’s not the build-ing.” They also say: “I don’t need no man to teach me. God teaches me.” Another one is: “That pastor puts his pant legs on one leg at a time, just like me. He can’t correct me.”

Another thing I’ve heard (from Chris-tians) is: “If God has

something to say to me, He’ll say it to me. He doesn’t need you to tell me anything. I can hear him for myself.”

Statements like these are exactly why the devil has been running rampant in the lives --- the homes --- of so many Chris-tian families. They (think they) know so much and resent you tryin’ to share anything with them that goes against their carnal, or natural, understand-ing. But then they’ve got family members in their homes who are sickly, terminally ill, or controlled by demon spirits of rebellion, apathy and indifference, self-ishness and every other thing that is not of the life that God intended for them.

So, to those people (the church know-it-alls), I say by the Holy Spirit: You’re not walking in the wisdom or the understand-ing that the Lord would have you to walk in. For if you were, you’d --- by the Spirit of the Lord --- recognize that would you say

are not the thoughts of God, but the words of the devil, which he uses to draw you further away from God’s plan for your life so that he (the devil) can trick you into forfeiting the blessed house and purposeful life that God desires for you.

Ephesians 4:8-16 (and 1st Corinthians 12:28) tells us that Jesus, Himself, placed among the body of believers --- the church --- apostles, prophets, evange-lists, pastors and teachers so that the church as a whole, which certainly includes the laymen of the church, can walk in ma-turity, knowing the will of God for their lives.

Question: Why would Jesus place these positions, these peo-ple, in the church if He didn’t want you assembled there? How can you know the will of God for your life without them? In other words, you do need a man to teach you.

For those of you who say: “I can hear God for myself.” You need to be trained on how to hear God for yourself. Don’t kid yourself. That training is your path to the abundant life. Be blessed.

The Rev. Donald Lee, who is former Keeping It Real columnist-copy editor with The Advocate and former co-host of The God Factor with Guy Brody (http://www.thegfactor.org), can be contacted at [email protected] or (225) 773-2248.

Baton Rouge native Stacey Joseph and The Word & Wor-ship Band will perform during this intimate night of dinner and praise for the New Year. Local Gospel artist Ian Von will also perform. On January 15, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. Stacey Joseph will be performing at the T. J. Jemison Baptist Student Center at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge.

Tickets are on sale at www.staceyjoseph.com. Proceeds go to benefit Stacey Joseph Ministries whose Word & Worship Experience concert series has donated items to The Star of Hope Mission in Houston, Ghana Slave Castle Library in Africa, Youth Oasis Shelter in Baton Rouge, and the Care Net Crisis Pregnancy centers in Covington and Hammond. Each WWE concert’s goal is to bring awareness and support to local charities.

Joseph has sung for renown performers Shirley Ceasar, Martha Munizzi, Yolanda Adams, Prophetess Juanita Bynum, Kelly Price, Rizen, and Sheila E. She also sings on various art-ists’ projects including Mary Alessi, Lakewood Church, Karen Clark-Sheard, Micah Stampley, and Bishop Jakes’ “He-Motions”. She is a former member of Israel and New Breed.

Through Joseph, The River of Passion Concert has brought praise and worship to the cities of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Humble, Texas.

For more information, contact Carla Borskey at 1-877-767-1547 or [email protected].

BAKER, LA - The time of this series is 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning at the Greater First Church-Baptist.

The following series date are:January 10th-Empowerment Sunday: Youth and Young

Adult Leadership;January 17th-Justice Sunday: Social and Criminal Jus-

tice;January 24th-Consecration Sunday: The master, mission

and ministry of the church(Pastor Anthony Kelley Birthday Fellowship and the Anthony Kelley Endowment Scholarship Dinner at 1:00 p.m.; and

January 31st-Installation Sunday: The Celebration of and Charge to Faithful Servant-Leaders of the Greater First Church-Baptist (“...witnesses both in Jerusalem (Baker), and in all Judaea (East Baton Rouge Parish), and in Samaria (Louisiana), and to the uttermost part of the earth” (Global Community)-Acts 1:8b.

River of Passion Concert Series Comes to Baton Rouge

New Direction Worship Celebration, Preaching Series for the Month of January“The Inhumanity of Man and the Righteousness of God” Scripture: Amos 5:24

Every Christian Should Have a Church Home, be Committed to That Ministry’s Vision

DonaldLee

Email your news articles to [email protected]


HealtH Thursday, March 6, 2008 • The Weekly Press • Page 7

health

Land Line (225) 356-0703Cell Phone (225) 235-6955E-mail: [email protected] Hours: Mon-Thurs 8am – 8 pm

Good Shepherd Substance Abuse CenterIntensive Outpatient / Inpatient TherapyFor Drugs, Alcohol, Anger Management

Rev. Donald Britton, MA, LAC Clinical DirectorBishop Harris Hayes, Overseer

2873 Mission Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70805 (225) 315-0740

GSRASAC

Indications For Treatment: • Low Back Pain• Pinched Nerves• Pain in Legs• Numbness• Burning Sensation• Muscle Spasms• Nervousness• Arthritis Pains• Scoliosis• Sleepiness• Disc Syndrome

WooDDALe ChiroPrACtiC CLiNiC

6233 harry Drive, Suite C • Baton rouge, Louisiana 70806

(225) 201-0210

Health Care For The Entire Family

office hours: 9:00 a.m. — 12:00 noon 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Monday – Friday

Dr Paul Matthews

Visit Us Online @www.theweeklypress.com

cally pointed out that changes which occur in a human being is redirected to pull from the core of his own humanity to reaffirm self worth and purpose. he will then by nature acquire the will to do for himself and others.

Space is not available to cover concerns of so many people

concerned with the conditions at Jetson. it is happening there. What i do know is that most of these youth can be changed, from contrition in a prepatory school for Angola to rehabilitation for a positive life that may lead to a life of meritorious glory. That is the Way I See It!

SyStem from page 4

all funny or remotely appropri-ate about the use of a lynching reference about Michelle obama,’’ he said. ‘’it’s - i’m speechless.’’

As President Bush pointed out so eloquently during the Black history Month event, the noose represents ‘’more than a tool of murder but a tool of intimidation’’ to generations of African-Ameri-cans. Nooses not only robbed some of their lives but many of their peace of mind.

‘’As a civil society, we must understand that noose displays and lynching jokes are deeply offensive. they are wrong. And they have no place in America today,’’ he said.

Neither o’reilly nor ingraham has been reprimanded by their re-spective employers even though the Fox News personality did offer a half-hearted apology.

At least ingraham didn’t drop the l-word but her suggestion that Sharpton, a former presidential candidate and respected member of the African-American community and beyond, is a petty thief reeks of race-baiting and negative ste-reotyping of African-Americans and black men in particular.

But it’s hardly the first time ei-ther has ventured into questionable and offensive territory. how can

we forget o’reilly’s less-than-informed comments regarding a dinner he shared last year with Sharpton at Sylvia’s in harlem? o’reilly expressed surprise over how similarSylvia’s was to other restaurants in New York restau-rants.

‘’there wasn’t one person in Sylvia’s who was screaming, ‘M-Fer, i want more iced tea,’’’ he said.

As the Washington Post’s rob-inson sadly observed on MSNBC in February, ‘’All you can go by is his words and his actions. And he keeps saying these things that sound pretty darn racist to me.’’

has talk radio learned anything from imus’ decline and fall? of course not, because it didn’t take imus too terribly long to get a new gig.

our nation’s media outlets should not provide a platform for racialhostility and hateful speech now or in the future. What kind of messageare we sending to our chil-dren, our nation and our world?

in such an historic election year, we cannot stand aside and allow individuals to use the airwaves as an outlet for insensitive and misguidedcommentary. if you hear something that offends you, speak up.

talk Radio from page 4

ering all children.the CDF Action Council, build-

ing on the best practices in states and lessons learned about children falling through the bureaucratic cracks of Medicaid and SChiP, strongly urged Congress to enact the All healthy Children Act, S. 1564/h.r. 1688, introduced by representative Bobby Scott (D-VA) in the house and Senator Bernie Sanders (i-Vt) in the Sen-ate. the measure would provide comprehensive benefits including dental and mental health, simpli-fied bureaucracy, and a national eligibility plan for families up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. We thank the 62 house co-sponsors for their support. how-ever, we regret that neither a single house republican nor any other Senator joined them to push for coverage for all children.

the CDF Action Council strongly supports long overdue health cov-erage for everyone in America as soon as possible—because children cannot wait. As SChiP comes up again for reauthorization in early 2009, we hope every Member of Congress will insist on covering every child and pregnant mother now by enacting and adequately funding the provisions of the All healthy Children Act.

Specious claims that we could not find the money—$70 billion over five years—to cover all children is belied by that amount spent in eleven months for tax cuts for the top one percent of richest Americans and in seven months for the iraq War. We do not have a money problem in America: We have a priorities and political will deficit. it is time for all adults to protect the health of our children.

the citizens of the nation must demand that our leaders free our children from the false ideological and political tugs of war among those who put excess profits ahead of children’s lives.

how well did Congress protect children in 2007? Not well enough: 276 Members of Congress had good CDF Action Council Con-gressional Scorecard scores of 80 percent or higher, and 198 of those had stellar scores of 100 percent. But 231 members scored 60 percent or lower—a failing grade from our school days.

Whether Members of Congress are liberal, conservative or mod-erate; Democrat, republican or independent, children need all of them to vote, lobby, speak for and protect them. Adults need to listen carefully to what candidates say they will do for children and fami-lies and, once they are in office, we need to hold them accountable. Please thank your Members of Con-gress with scores of 80 percent or above and let those with scores of 60 percent or below know you are dissatisfied with their performance. And please convey that same mes-sage to each presidential candidate. We must demand that our leaders commit to children as a condition of our vote.

Marian Wright Edelman is Presi-dent of the Children’s Defense Fund and its Action Council whose Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.

ChildRen from page 4

(NAPSM)-A survey commissioned by two leading health organizations found that although two out of three African Americans (61 percent) ex-pressed concern about developing heart disease and two out of five (40 percent) expressed concern about developing Alzheimer’s, only about one in 20 are aware that heart health is linked to brain health.

the Alzheimer’s Association is joining forces with the American heart Association to educate African Americans that by managing their cardiovascular risk, they may also strengthen their cognitive health.

“What’s good for your heart is good for your brain,” says Jennifer Manly, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Associa-tion spokesperson. “every healthy heartbeat pumps about one-fifth of your blood to your brain to carry on the daily processes of thinking, prob-lem solving and remembering.”

“By the year 2030, the number of African Americans age 65 or older is expected to more than double to 6.9 million,” said emil Matarese, M.D., American heart Association spokes-person. “Although Alzheimer’s is not part of normal aging, age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. So it is important that Af-rican Americans take steps now to decrease their risk of heart disease, which research has shown could also decrease the risk of cognitive decline.”

Did You Know?• Compared to the general public,

African Americans have a higher risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and vascular dementia.

• More than 40 percent of African Americans have high blood pres-sure (hBP) and are at risk for stroke, which can lead to greater risk for developing Alzheimer’s or other vascular cognitive dementias.

• every year, more than 100,000 African Americans have a stroke.

• having high cholesterol increases the risk for stroke and may increase the risk for Alzheimer’s.

Manage Your Risks• Watch the numbers. remember

that desirable blood pressure is less than 120/80 mmhg. Keep your body weight in the recommended range and make sure that the total choles-terol is less than 200mg/dL.

• healthy lifestyle choices include staying mentally and physically ac-tive, staying socially involved, reduc-ing your intake of fat and cholesterol and not smoking.

Visit www.alz.org/heartbrain or call the American Stroke Associa-tion, a division of the American heart Association, at (888) 478-7653 or the Alzheimer’s Association at (800) 272-3900 and you’ll receive a bro-chure with heart and brain health information and a free pedometer, while supplies last.

What’s Good For Your Heart Is Good For Your Brain

Research shows a link between heart and brain health, which means impaired heart function could lead to impaired brain function.

apart. You must continue to hold on to your faith and stay before the Lord. But, it may be that the time has come when you may need to take some quality time for yourself and spend some of that time with God.

Get on your knees before God and tell him of how you are feel-ing inside. And maybe the words wont come out exactly as you wish but you can have a good weeping, wailing crying falling, out tantrum and give all those problems to him.

While you are praying, you might forget some of the things that vexed you but God knows what you are going through. he can read the pain, which flows through your tears. even though he knows what’s troubling you, he still wants to tell him about it and bring your problems and burdens to him.

therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hands of God, that he may exalt you in due time, “casting all your cares upon him, for he cares for you,”(1st Peter 5:6-7).

After you finished having your tantrum. You may have a stopped up nose and swollen eyes and mucus running down your lip and dried tears on your face, but you’ll feel better after emptying yourself of those things which had been heavy on your heart.

Sometimes we go for weeks or months trying to take matters into our hands and try to solve our own problems. We are not super humans; we can’t handle every-thing alone. We need God’s help. We have to let go of those situ-ations and let God handle them. there are some things we can’t humanly do anything about.

tantRum from page 6

(NAPSi)-here’s an alert worth paying attention to: According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), learning your risk for type 2 diabetes could save your life.

Diabetes is a serious disease that strikes nearly 21 million children and adults in the U.S. it is named the “silent killer” because one-third of those with the disease--more than 6 million--do not know they have it.

For many, diagnosis may come seven to 10 years after the onset of type 2 diabetes. early diagnosis is critical for successful treatment and can delay or prevent some of the complications such as heart diseases, blindness, kidney disease, stroke and amputation.

that’s one reason the ADA holds the American Diabetes Alert® Day, a one-day wake-up call to inform the American public about the serious-

ness of diabetes, particularly when it is left undiagnosed and untreated. the day is held on the fourth tuesday of every March.

on that day, people are encour-aged to take the Diabetes risk test, either with paper and pencil or online. the risk test requires users to answer seven simple questions about age, weight, lifestyle and family history--all potential risk factors for diabetes. People scoring 10 points or more are at a high risk for type 2 diabetes and are encouraged to talk with a health care professional.

An estimated 54 million Ameri-cans have pre-diabetes. those with pre-diabetes have blood glucose lev-els higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

early intervention via lifestyle changes such as weight loss and

increased physical activity can help delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Among the primary risk factors for type 2 diabetes are being over-weight, sedentary, over the age of 45 and having a family history of diabetes. African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asians and Pacific islanders are at an increased risk, as are women who have babies weighing more than 9 pounds at birth.

the Diabetes risk test is avail-

able in english and Spanish by call-ing the ADA at 1-800-DiABeteS (1-800-342-2383) or online at www.diabetes.org/alert.

though the Alert is a one-day call to action, awareness about type 2 diabetes is important anytime of the year, so free Diabetes risk tests are available online and by calling ADA all year long.

A free Diabetes risk test is avail-able all year long to determine the risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

Could You Be At Risk?

Free Cancer ScreeningsNo appointment required for most screenings.

If you do not have a doctor and have not been screened in the last 12 months, these cancer screenings are available to you for free.

Presented as part of the comprehensive Cancer Program

of Our Lady of the Lake and Mary Bird Perkins. Screenings

made possible by donor gifts.

(225) 215-1234 (888) 616-4687

Breast Cancer ScreeningTuesday, March 1110am – 12pm & 1pm – 4pm

LSUHSC Mid City Clinic1401 N. Foster DriveBaton Rouge

Colorectal Cancer ScreeningThursday, March 1310am –2pm

Wal-Mart2171 O’Neal LaneBaton Rouge

Breast Cancer ScreeningTuesday, March 185pm – 7pm (Appt required)

Woman’s Hospital9050 Airline HighwayBaton Rouge

Prostate and ColorectalCancer ScreeningsWednesday, March 2610am –2pm

Ed Price Building Materials7835 Airline HighwayBaton Rouge

In Partnership With:

Our Lady of the LakeWoman’s HospitalYWCA Encore Plus

LSU Hospitals Health Care Services Division

Breast Cancer ScreeningFriday, March 1410am – 12pm & 1pm – 4pm

Leo S. Butler Community Center950 E. Washington StreetBaton Rouge

Colorectal Cancer ScreeningMonday, March 1710am –2pm

Brusly Town Hall601 S. Vaughan StreetBrusly

Have You Been Screened?

Free Cancer Screenings(225) 215-1234 • (888) 616-4687

If you have not been screened in the last 12 months, this cancer screening is available

to you for free.

Screenings made possible by donor gifts.

Have YouBeen Screened?

In Partnership With:Woman’s Hospital

LSU Hospital’s Health Care Services DivisionYWCA Encore Plus

Tobacco education available to screening participants

www.marybird.org

Breast Cancer Screening

Thursday, January 289 a.m. - 11 a.m.

& 12 p.m. - 2 p.m.Appointment required

Dynamic Therapy7549 Highway 1

Addis


Friday, January 89 a.m. - 11 a.m.

& 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. Appointment required

Cortana Walmart 9350 Cortana Place

Baton Rouge


Tuesday, January 1210 a.m. - 12 p.m. & 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

No appointment required

LSU Mid City Clinic1401 North Foster

Baton Rouge


Tuesday, January 195 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Appointment required

Woman’s Hospital9050 Airline Highway

Baton Rouge

By Jodi ConaChen, PR Manager, Woman’s Hospital

Angela Loving, Woman’s Hospital Infection Prevention Department, passed her cer-tification exam for Infection Control. The certification is awarded based on an appli-cant’s ability to analyze and interpret collected infection con-trol data and her investigation and surveillance skills related to suspected outbreaks of in-fection. There are only 3,000 certified infection prevention practitioners in the United States .

Additional measures for certification include infection prevention knowledge related to the planning, implementa-tion and evaluation of infec-tion prevention and control measures, the education of individuals about infection risk, prevention and control, the development and revision of infection control policies and procedures, the management of infection prevention and control activities and the provision of consultation on infection risk

assessment, prevention and control strategies.

The Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemi-ology, Inc. (CBIC) is a voluntary autonomous multidisciplinary board that provides direction for and administers the certifi-cation process for professionals in infection control and applied epidemiology. CBIC is indepen-dent and separate from any other infection control- related organization or association.

The Certification in In-fection Control (CIC) must be renewed every five years by taking another exam.

WASHIngTon — President Barack obama is prodding House and Senate Democrats to get him a final health care bill as soon as possible, encouraging them to bypass the usual negotiations between the two chambers in the interest of speed.

obama delivered the mes-sage at an oval office meeting Tuesday evening with House Speaker nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his no. 2, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., joined in by phone.

They agreed that rather than setting up a formal conference committee to resolve differences between health bills passed last year by the House and Senate, the House will work off the Senate’s version, amend it and send it back to the Senate for final passage, according to a House leadership aide, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the private meeting.

obama himself will take a hands-on role, convening an-other meeting with congressional leaders at the White House on Wednesday. Pelosi, along with four other Democratic committee chairs, are expected to attend.

The aim is to get a final bill to obama’s desk before the State of the Union address sometime

in early February.Facing the need to maintain

a tenuous 60-vote coalition in the Senate, House Democrats will probably have to give up on start-ing a new government insurance plan to compete with the private market, something that’s a non-starter with Senate moderates. In its place they hope for more generous subsidies for lower-income families to buy health insurance.

obama agreed at Tues-day evening’s meeting to help strengthen affordability measures beyond what’s in the Senate bill, the aide said.

Pelosi suggested Tuesday that House members wouldn’t insist on the government plan as long as the final bill provides “af-fordability for the middle class, accountability for the insurance companies, ... accessibility by lowering cost at every stage.”

“There are other ways to do that, and we look forward to having those discussions,” she said.

House Democrats want the Senate to agree to language revoking insurers’ antitrust ex-emption as a way to hold insur-ance companies accountable in absence of direct government competition, said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., a member of the House leadership.

The bills passed by the House and Senate both would require nearly all Americans to get coverage and would provide subsidies for many who can’t afford the cost, but they differ on hundreds of details. Among them are whom to tax, how many people to cover, how to restrict taxpayer funding for abortion and whether illegal immigrants should be allowed to buy cover-age in the new markets with their own money.

Concerns about affordability are paramount. Major subsidies under the bills wouldn’t start flowing to consumers until 2013 at the earliest. Even with federal aid, many families still would face substantial costs.

The House bill would pro-vide $602 billion in subsidies from 2013-2019, covering an additional 36 million people.

The Senate bill would start the aid a year later, providing $436 billion in subsidies from 2014-2019, and reducing the num-ber of uninsured by 31 million.

“Affordability is a critical issue,” Van Hollen said.

But sweetening the deal for low- and middle-income house-holds could require more taxes to pay for additional subsidies. And the House and Senate are also at odds over whom to tax. The House wants to raise income

taxes on individuals making more than $500,000 and couples over $1 million. The Senate would slap a new tax on high-cost insurance plans. Although the obama ad-ministration supports the Sen-ate’s insurance tax as a cost-saver, labor unions, which contribute heavily to Democratic candidates, are against it.

The House may end up ac-cepting the insurance tax if it hits fewer people than the Senate’s design now calls for. There also could be common ground in a Senate proposal to raise Medi-care payroll taxes on individuals making more than $200,000 and married couples over $250,000.

Democrats reacted defen-sively to criticism that they are taking the final, most crucial stage of the debate behind closed doors, contending they’ve conducted a transparent process with hun-dreds of public meetings and legislation posted online. Re-publicans seized on a newly released letter from the head of the C-SPAn network calling on congressional leaders to open the final talks to the public, and cited obama’s campaign trail pledge to do just that.

Asked about that promise, Pelosi remarked, without elabo-ration, “There are a number of things he was for on the cam-paign trail.”

Obama Calls for Speedy Passage of Health Care Bill

Woman’s Employee Certified in Infection Control

BELLEVILLE, Ill — Resolu-tions abound in the new Year, and having recommended health screenings should be a priority. January is Cervi-cal Health Awareness Month and a prime time to highlight the importance of routine Pap tests. Raising awareness among women with disabilities is es-pecially important because, as a group, they are less likely to get the life-saving test, according to Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security disability representation and Medicare services.

In the United States, 11,000 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed in 2010 from human papilloma-virus (HPV)-caused tumors. HPVs are sexually transmitted via skin-to-skin contact. Recent research indicates the virus also causes some cases of cancers of the mouth, anus, head and neck in men and women, according to the national Cervical Cancer Coalition (nCCC).

Cervical cancer is the easiest female cancer to prevent with regular screening tests and follow-up. The Pap test (or Pap smear) looks for cell changes on the cervix that might become cervical cancer if not treated ap-propriately. The HPV test looks for the virus that can cause these cell changes.

“It’s important to remem-ber that cervical cancer is a preventable disease—as long

as it’s caught early enough,” said nCCC executive director Sarina Araujo.

In fact, when cervical cancer is found early, it is highly treatable and associated with long survival and good quality of life. Unfortunately, six out of 10 cervical cancers occur in women who have never re-ceived a Pap test or have not been tested in the past five years.

“There is a wide range of reasons for this disparity,” said Allsup manager Tai Venuti, MPH. “The disability may make the exam itself more difficult, as in the case of spinal cord injuries or disorders, or special equip-ment may be needed. Another barrier could be as simple as not having adequate transportation to the doctor.”

In addition, healthcare facilities may be inaccessible and ill-equipped to serve people with disabilities, so preventive services like Pap smears are overlooked. [1]

Women diagnosed with cervical cancer and unable to work may be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. The Social Se-curity Administration uses a five-step process to determine if a cancer patient qualifies for SSDI benefits.

1. Determine if an individ-ual is “working (engaging in substantial gainful activity)” ac-cording to the SSA definition.

2. Conclude the cancer dis-ability must be severe enough to significantly limit one’s ability to perform basic work activities needed to do most jobs.

3. Ask if the cancer disabil-ity meets or equals a medical listing.

4. Explore the ability of an individual to perform work they have done in the past despite their cancer. If the person can-not, then the process proceeds to the fifth and final step.

5. Review age, education,

work experience and physical/mental condition to determine what other work, if any, the per-son can perform.

Public education and outreach are keys to promot-ing good cervical health for all women, and eliminating screen-ing disparities for women with disabilities.

For more information and to learn how you can help dur-ing Cervical Health Awareness Month, visit the national Cervi-cal Cancer Coalition (nCCC).

January is Cervical Health Awareness MonthWomen with Disabilities Less Likely to Get Life-Saving Screening

Visit Us [email protected]

EMAIL you News [email protected]

people living in poverty. He bought the decrypted Apollo Theater in 1981, investing over $250,000 in the people of Harlem, and then turning it into a historic landmark for aspiring artist, entrepreneurs and social leaders. Today, it is revered as the one of the most prestigious venues in the United States.

Realizing the valuable so-cial impact of entrepreneurial dreams like The Showtime Apollo Theater, Percy Sutton working with his brother, oli-ver purchased the WLIB-AM radio station. Through hard work and determination, it became the first black owned radio station in new York. It garnered national exposure opening broadcast locations in key markets such as Los Ange-les, San Francisco, Detroit, and San Antonio facilitating our voice of opportunity. Today, his creation ICBC stands as a legacy and model representing the potential of every person’s ability to achieve hopes and dreams.

Ultimately, Percy Sutton left the worldwide a better place, truly making a differ-ence in people’s lives. It is with great respect and grati-tude I usher in the new Year 2010 always remembering my godfather and loving mentor, The Honorable Percy Sutton. I will never forget his fearless leadership as an extraordinary human being that dedicated his life to providing a voice for us all, paving the road of valuable opportunities for future generations.

Farrah gray is the author

of ‘The Truth Shall Make You Rich: The new Road Map to Radical Prosperity’, ‘get Real, get Rich: Conquer the 7 Lies Blocking You from Success’ and the international best-seller ‘Reallionaire: nine Steps to Becoming Rich from the In-side out.’ He is chairman of the Farrah gray Foundation. Dr. gray can be reached via email at [email protected] or his website at http://www.drfarrahgray.com.

and Julian Bonds of the world should step aside so that they can more effectively provide national leadership. neither Jesse Jackson nor Julian Bond rose to leadership by waiting their turn. In fact, if you had studied history, you would have known that they fought for their place at the civil rights table. And if you are the leader you proclaim to be, you will not wait for their permission to assert your talents.

If we do half of the things I’ve proposed, I am sure we will indeed have a happy new Year and prosperous decade.

George E. Curry, former ed-itor-in-chief of Emerge magazine and the NNPA News Service, is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. He can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com You can also follow him at www.twitter.com/currygeorge.

Sutton from page 4

2010 and Beyond from page 4

Angela Loving

Weekly Press Week of Jan 07, 2010

Documents

Transcript of Weekly Press Week of Jan 07, 2010