Lifestyle

Let me start out this week’s column with a correction. It seems I got some of the information wrong in a very special birth announcement.

As local churches completed their Easter services, it seemed that everyone was headed to one place: Scooby’s Community Give Back at the former YO! Building in Lake Providence. By 3 p.m., the parking lot swelled with children and adults, with an estimation of close to 300 in attendance.

On Tuesday, March 31, Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NEDHSA) partnered with New Living Word Ministries (NLW) to hand out bags containing snacks, wellness, and prevention kits. Each kit contained a set of items that can be used with purpose. The wellness kit contains items such as hygiene kits, wound care kits, and menstrual kits, while the prevention kit contains items like condoms for safe sex, needle hygiene kits, fentanyl test strips, and Deterra medication disposal pouches. “Our hope is to help every citizen in our region to reach their full human potential,” said Daniel Perea, Information Director of NEDHSA. “Negative physical health outcomes contribute to negative mental health outcomes and vice-versa. Through prevention we hope to reduce fentanyl overdoses and opioid dependencies.” By providing these materials to the people, NEDHSA follows their vision “to build a unified Northeast Louisiana where individuals are thriving and reaching their full human potential.”

Alicyn Bailee Murphy, daughter of Ed and Diane Murphy of Tyler, Texas, and Holt Daniel Martin, son of Neil and Kathleen Martin of Lake Providence, announce their engagement. The bride is the granddaughter of Alice Moore of Bastrop, Louisiana.

I am going to confess now and apologize for a small column this week. I have been under the weather and have not been online enough to see what’s happening around town. Lekeisha Lucas did share some great 4-H pictures this past week.

What was a longer holiday weekend for most folks left us with a shorter deadline for the paper. But we’ll manage to figure it out. Seems like we always do. There was a Mardi Gras parade at Briarfield Academy. It wasn’t a big parade, but it was just as grand and lavish, and the beads were flowing just as freely as its larger counterparts.

Well, hopefully we are back to normal living after a rough two weeks. I sure would love to hear about how some of you coped during this ordeal. And any stories you might have about a local, homegrown hero.

Good Thursday, everyone. Sure wish we had something to talk about. Wait. There is the matter of a small storm that passed through our area. I know that most of us are still feeling the effects of it. And I know most of us altered our lifestyle for just a little while to adapt to these conditions.

Last week, nearly 40 children were presented Christmas gifts and posed for pictures with a former Lake Providence resident who is poised to enter professional league football. Santonial “TeeJay” Rice sponsored the event, and was assisted by volunteers Tracey Reynolds, Kayla Spencer, and his sister, Shamari Rice.